IN THE KNOW: Dengvaxia vaccine in other countries

MANILA, Philippines — CYD-TDV (brand name Dengvaxia), developed by Sanofi Pasteur, is the first dengue vaccine licensed in December 2015 in Mexico.

By April 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Dengvaxia vaccination had been approved by regulatory authorities in 20 countries for people 9 to 45 years old.

Among these countries are Mexico, Brazil, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Peru, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.

In May 2019, Dengvaxia was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States for use in children 9-16 years old living in an area where dengue is common (the US territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands), with laboratory-confirmed prior dengue virus infection.

Like in Singapore, vaccination is not for everyone. Dengue vaccination is not part of Singapore’s national immunization program. The vaccine is given only to people when the benefits outweigh the risks.

Safeguards, such as the availability of serological testing to determine prior dengue infection, are in place in the city-state.

WHO has recommended that the vaccine be given only to people with confirmed prior dengue virus infection.

In 2017, Sanofi Pasteur, announced that people who receive the vaccine and have not been previously infected with a dengue virus may be at risk of developing severe dengue if they get dengue after being vaccinated.

Source: World Health Organization https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dengue-and-severe-dengue, https://www.hsa.gov.sg/ https://www.cdc.gov/dengue/prevention/dengue-vaccine.html