Dengue vaccine now available over the counter

MANILA, Philippines — Over 200,000 dengue cases in the country were reported in 2016, with around 1,000 of these leading to death.

Besides the health risks, dengue, a vector-borne disease, also has an impact on public health, costing billions of pesos of tax payers’ money as treatment requires tens of thousands in pesos per patient.

In response to these, health and beauty chain Watsons announced today the availability of dengue vaccination (Dengvaxia) in select Watsons stores nationwide.

The dengue vaccination was launched in the country by the Department of Health (DOH) together with the Department of Education (DepEd), and was made available in medical clinics last year. Now, Watsons claims to be the first retailer to offer it in the Philippine market.

“As part of our commitment to improve the lives and health of Filipinos by making health care more accessible to them, we decided to offer dengue vaccination in our select stores nationwide. Dengue is a recurring epidemic in the country, that’s why we recognize the importance of protecting Filipinos against this deadly disease through the vaccination,” said Watsons Trading Health Director, Danilo Chiong.

The first vaccine against dengue, Dengvaxia, was created by leading multinational pharmaceutical company and an expert in the development of vaccinations, Sanofi Pasteur. The vaccine took more than 20 years to develop and has been thoroughly tested, based on World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

Studies of the vaccine included more than 41,000 people and were carried out in 15 countries, including the Philippines. The results were fully reviewed by a committee of independent experts and have also been recommended by the World Health Organization.

In the Philippines, the DOH, together with DepEd, launched the administration of the dengue vaccine through school-based immunization approach. This aims to vaccinate about one million Grade 4 pupils aged nine years old and above enrolled in public schools in several regions of the country.

As of February 2017, the vaccine has been approved in 14 countries where dengue is endemic, including Singapore, Mexico, Brazil, and the Philippines.

The dengue vaccine has also received the endorsement of the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and Philippine College of Physicians.

According to a study by the University of the Philippines National Institute of Health, the vaccine is expected to reduce dengue cases in the country by over 24 percent in a span of five years.

The dengue vaccination, to be taken in three doses at zero - six - 12 months interval, can protect the individual from all four strains of the dengue virus. This can be administered to people aged nine to 45 years old.

Even those who already had dengue, even those who had it twice, should have the vaccine for prevention as there are several types of dengue that the body is not immune to, so the potential to get it is always there, said Dr. Rontgene Solante.

Dr. Solante is not sure if the vaccines can provide lifetime protection since the immune system only responds to antibodies for a certain period of time. But according to results of clinical trials started since 2014, there has been “zero” dengue among those vaccinated, so it is important to complete the three doses, the doctor said.

It will cost P4,000 per dose or P12,000 for all three doses, which is considered a reasonable price given the high incidence of dengue and high cost of treatment in the Philippines.

Since the vaccine is still new and there is still little knowledge about its side effects, he does not recommend having it in one day together with other vaccinations.

The dengue vaccination is the latest addition to the vaccines offered by Watsons, which include those for the prevention of cervical cancer and pneumonia. The store chain also plans to offer in-store vaccinations for the 2017 strain of flu, pneumonia, and rabies, among others.

We will have a doctor in store during vaccination dates to administer the vaccination,” Chiong assured.

The first scheduled dengue vaccination will be on April 30 (first dose), October 29 (second dose) and April 29, 2018 (third dose). The second scheduled dengue vacation will be on May 14 (first dose), November 12 (second dose), and May 13, 2018 (third dose). This will be available in more than 100 stores nationwide.