Pediatricians seek approval of new antidengue vaccine 

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The country’s pediatricians are asking regulators to speed up the approval of a new antidengue vaccine, as cases rose again in the Cordillera this year.

The highland region treated a total of 28,363 dengue patients ranging from newborns to elderly individuals from January to November 9, 2024, which was a 191-percent increase compared to cases in 2022 and 2023, reported Dr. Mary Crist Jamora of the Philippine Pediatrics Society (PPS).

In Baguio City alone, the PPS said 8,217 infections were recorded.

READ: Philippines sees spike in dengue cases: The urgent need for dengue vaccine approval

Jamora pointed out dengue in the city and the Cordillera provinces of Ifugao, Kalinga, Abra, Apayao, Benguet and Mountain Province dropped to 9,734 cases last year from 16,688 in 2022, which was the waning period of the coronavirus pandemic, only to soar again this year.

Cases in the mountain region were much higher than cases in the Ilocos region, said Laoag City-based pediatrician Dr. Amelen Palanca, PPS north Luzon president.

Jamora stressed the increasing infection trend has been attributed in part to the frequency and strength of rains, the urbanization of forest lands, which has disrupted the dengue-carrying mosquito’s natural habitat, and a warming climate in the mountains.

On top of the case uptrend, the medical community and government health workers have been struggling to improve poor immunization rates for newborns and young children in the region, she said.

Japanese vaccine

The society’s members favor a new antidengue medicine that is being examined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

But the use of the drug should also address “massive disinformation” that has affected the health bureaucracy and has been fueling distrust in medicine, said Dr. Nina Gloriani, PPS national president.

The society members did not disclose the name of the vaccine “until it gets a license in the Philippines,” but Palanca said it was a product of Japanese pharmaceutical Takeda.

Health records, however, showed the FDA is processing Takeda’s application for Qdenga, which is described a “second generation vaccine.”

Unlike the Dengvaxia vaccine, which is no longer used in the Philippines, Qdenga can be injected into individuals who have never been infected by dengue.

The society has been at the forefront of a “science-led” crusade to counter strong antivaccine sentiments, Palanca told the Inquirer on Monday.

Gloriani said the pediatric community is prepared to lobby for another national vaccination that would subsidize a free dengue vaccine rollout across towns and provinces,.”