Vietnam launches QDENGA dengue vaccine

Vietnam officials announced the deployment of Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceuticals dengue fever vaccine, QDENGA, giving the population the first opportunity to access the vaccine.

The vaccine is available in Vietnam for children 4 years and up, to adults.

Image/CDC

The vaccine has been researched and developed by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company for nearly 45 years and has been widely deployed in more than 40 countries around the world.

According to Dr. Bach Thi Chinh, Medical Director of VNVC Vaccination System, the dengue fever vaccine of Takeda, Japan was approved by the Ministry of Health in May 2024.

Associate Professor Tran Dac Phu, former Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine, said that Vietnam is currently circulating all four types of Dengue virus that cause dengue fever, of which the main circulating virus types are Den-1 and Den-2. Type Den-2 is often associated with severe cases of dengue fever and epidemics, and is also the cause of deaths related to dengue fever.

Every year, the number of dengue fever cases remains high and is spreading more and more widely because mosquitoes have the ability to reproduce easily in water such as waste, bottles when there is rainwater, jars, water tanks, etc., making it difficult to spray pesticides to eliminate and completely solve the problem.

"Vaccines are a great achievement that effectively contributes to epidemic control. Using vaccines will reduce the number of cases, severe cases and deaths," Associate Professor Tran Dac Phu assessed.

Japan's Takeda dengue vaccine was first used in the world in 2018 and is now widely used in more than 40 countries, especially in countries with frequent complicated epidemics.

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With modern technology, the vaccine is effective in preventing all four types of dengue virus that cause the disease, with an effectiveness of up to 80% and preventing the risk of hospitalization by up to 90%.

Dengue fever vaccine is given in 2 doses, 3 months apart, and can be given at the same time as other vaccines depending on the type.

According to MSc. Dr. Le Hong Nga, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), in recent years the dengue fever epidemic has changed, no longer developing cyclically but increasing steadily every year, especially at the end of the year.

The reason is that urbanization and global warming have created favorable conditions for disease-causing mosquitoes to thrive. Vietnam has about 200,000 cases and dozens of deaths every year.