World’s First Dengue Vaccine Arrives in Indonesia
Jakarta. Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, has introduced a dengue vaccine to Indonesia, after receiving approval from Indonesia's Food and Drug Monitoring Agency, or BPOM, earlier this month, the pharmaceutical company said on Tuesday (25/10).
The vaccine Dengvaxia has been recommended by the World Health Organization and approved in Mexico, the Philippines, Brazil and El Salvador.
“The vaccine has been distributed to clinics and private hospitals in Indonesia through our distributor,” Joko Murdianto, Sanofi Pasteur Indonesia’s general manager, told Indonesian news portal Liputan6.com.
Sanofi Pasteur said that clinical trial results indicate that for those who have taken the vaccine, two out of three people are less likely to contract dengue. Studies have also shown that overall, there will be an 80 percent drop in dengue-related hospitalization cases.
Sanofi has not yet said how much it will cost saying that it will depend on its official distributor, Anugrah Pharmindo Lestari.
However, based on its baseline price there are reports indicating that the vaccine will likely cost at least Rp 900,000 ($69.15) per shot, before tax.
It has been registered for use in people nine-45 years of age, although most effective in the age group of nine-16 years. A course of three shots with a six-month interval is required. Therefore, after the first shot is administered, the subsequent doses are administered at six and 12 months.
In Indonesia last year, more than 129,000 were infected with dengue with 1,240 fatalities recorded.
Indonesia also has the highest average number of cases per year in Southeast Asia causing an annual loss of $323 million.
According to the WHO, the worldwide incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades.
"One recent estimate indicates 390 million dengue infections per year [...] of which 96 million [...] manifest clinically [with any severity of disease]," the WHO says.
Sanofi says it hopes to be able to support the WHO’s ambition to reduce dengue mortality by 50 percent and morbidity by 25 percent by 2020.
Indonesian authorities regularly warn people about dengue fever, as the disease kills hundreds here each year.
The disease is spread through the bite of the female Aedes mosquito, which becomes infected when it takes the blood of a person carrying the virus. The mosquito can then transmit the virus by biting a healthy person.
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