The Ministry of Health has allowed states and municipalities to temporarily expand the target audience for the dengue vaccination campaign to avoid wasting doses that are about to expire. This measure is valid for sites due to expire on June 30 and July 31, 2024, and recommends preferential expansion for children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 16 years.
The campaign was originally aimed at people between the ages of 10 and 14, and can be expanded to include other age groups if necessary. If the expansion in children and adolescents is not enough to ensure timely use of doses, health departments are authorized to vaccinate people aged 4 to 59 years – according to the recommendation of the manufacturer of the Qdenga vaccine, which is used by the Unified Health System (SUS).
In April, a similar measure was adopted to avoid wasting vaccines valid until April 30. The current measure is justified due to the decline in recorded demand and the approaching expiration date of more quantities. But the Ministry of Health did not reveal the exact number of doses available and did not specify the affected states and municipalities.
The Ministry explained in a technical note published last Friday (21) that “this is a temporary and exceptional strategy, applied only to vaccines that expire on June 30 and July 31, 2024.” Last week, dengue fever cases reached 6 million cases and 4,000 deaths due to the disease. Another 2,700 are still under investigation (See in full).
The SUS National Immunization Program (PNI) began offering the Qdenga vaccine in February this year. Qdenga, developed by Takeda Pharma and approved by Anvisa in March 2023, contains live attenuated dengue viruses, providing immunity against the four serotypes of the virus.
The vaccine is given in two doses, with an interval of three months between each dose. It is approved for people ages 4 to 60, although there are no conclusive studies on its effectiveness in individuals over this age.
Qdenga is recommended for both those who have already had dengue and those who have never had the infection, and is the first vaccine in Brazil to offer this range.
The Ministry of Health estimates that Brazil will receive 6.5 million doses of dengue vaccine this year, strengthening the immunization campaign and combating the disease, which remains a major public health challenge in the country.
According to the government, the initiative aims to improve the use of available vaccines and ensure the protection of the population from dengue fever, especially in areas most at risk of an outbreak of the disease and where demand for vaccination has been lower than expected.
“Friendly zombie guru. Avid pop culture scholar. Freelance travel geek. Wannabe troublemaker. Coffee specialist.”
