Ministry of Health Studies Including Dengue Vaccine in SUS
Writer Gisele Gama and singer Dhi Ribeiro caught dengue together in March last year. It was chaotic. Now they are counting the days to get vaccinated.
“A lot of headaches, pain behind the eyes, pain in the joints, very high fever, want to lie down. Very disabling,” says Gisèle.
“Honey, the first person who wants to get vaccinated is me. The vaccine is still important,” says Dhi.
The new vaccine is the first in Brazil for those who have never caught dengue fever and also for those who have had itlike Gisèle and Dhi. It will be aimed at children from 4 years old to adults over 60 years old; two doses with an interval of three months. It protects against all four serotypes of the disease virus, providing broad protection.
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The Qdenga vaccine was developed by the Japanese laboratory Takeda and, according to the manufacturer, the overall efficacy in clinical trials was 80.2% 12 months post-vaccine. And it also reduced hospitalizations by 90%. In December last year, it was approved by the European Union health agency.
Until now, the only dengue vaccine in Brazil was for those who already had the disease, used to try to prevent a second infection, which can be more aggressive, and is not available in health centers. Experts celebrate the arrival of yet another vaccine.
“The vaccine is not just about reducing the number of people who die. The vaccine is about reducing the impact of the disease in that particular community. Understanding the disease and the process of protection has now led us to a product that virtually eliminates this scenario and adds much greater security to this arsenal, with even greater efficiency, ”explains infectologist Jamal Suleiman, from the Emilio Ribas Institute.
“We have to continue to be careful with the spaces where you have the vector of this disease, which is the mosquito,” says Jamal.
“Typical thinker. Unapologetic alcoholaholic. Internet fanatic. Pop culture advocate. Tv junkie.”