Priority audience for the dengue vaccine will be 6 to 16 years old, says government

The vaccination against dengue that will be carried out by the Unified Health System (SUS) from February will target children and young people between 6 and 16 years of age as a priority, the Ministry of Health reported this Monday, 15th. , however, that, as the number of doses available is not enough to immunize this entire age group, it will still define what other criteria will be used to determine who will be immunized in this first year of the campaign.

According to the folder, the age threshold respects technical recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO), and was defined by the Technical Advisory Chamber on Immunization (CTAI).

As shown by the Estadão, the folder will acquire 5.2 million doses this year from Qdenga, the name given to the immunizer from the Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda. The country should receive a few more doses via donation from the laboratory, but the quantity is still being defined. Between purchased and donated vaccines, the government expects to have 6 million vaccines available to be distributed in 2024.

The Ministry of Health recognizes that the number of doses is still low. As the vaccination schedule against the disease is completed with two doses, up to 3 million people could be protected with Qdenga this year. Due to the low quantity of vaccines available, the proposal is to decide, within the age range established by the WHO, who will be the target audience to receive the vaccine.

“The World Health Organization defines some age limitations for the use of this vaccine. The quantity is small. So, we had to discuss how this use would be distributed across the national territory, balancing the best epidemiological result with greater coverage in municipalities”, said Eder Gatti, director of the National Immunization Program (PNI).

“From 6 to 16 years is what the World Health Organization recommends, and they still condition the epidemiological situation. We will respect what the WHO says. So, we will choose a range between 6 and 16 years old (to receive the vaccine)”, he added.

The decision to define the exact target audience to receive the vaccine, as well as the national immunization process, will also be defined in meetings with the States and municipalities.

“Options were given, and now we are going to take it to a tripartite discussion,” said Gatti. “I can’t say which municipalities (will receive the doses) at this moment, but the discussion is being held so that we can make a decision as quickly as possible.”

Produced by the Takeda laboratory, Qdenga was incorporated into the Unified Health System (SUS) in December and became part of the National Immunization Program. According to the Ministry of Health, complete immunization is 80.2% effective against dengue fever caused by any serotype. Also according to data reported by the ministry, the vaccine reduces the risk of hospitalization by 90%.

In 2023, Brazil reached historic levels of dengue cases. With a total of 2.9 million cases registered as of December 11, the country was considered by the WHO to be the nation with the highest incidence of the disease in the world. To date, the number represented more than half of the more than 5 million cases recorded worldwide.

Eder Gatti stated that, although the number of doses available for this year are low, he hopes that Brazil will be able to produce the vaccine within its own territory to increase vaccine coverage.

“We do not have other licensed vaccines that can be used in the same way as this one. We hope, in the future, to have national vaccine production to have a more expanded dengue vaccination strategy”, said the director of the PNI. “The tendency is, in the future, to have new options. What we are doing this year is taking a first step, but certainly a very important step,” he added.