In addition to preventing disease and reducing the risk of hospitalization, the vaccine also protects and prevents reinfection for people who have had dengue fever.
Dr. Bach Thi Chinh, Medical Director of the VNVC Vaccination System, said that the dengue fever vaccine of the pharmaceutical company Takeda Pharmaceutical (Japan) was approved by the Ministry of Health in May 2024. The vaccine was researched and developed for nearly 45 years and has been widely deployed in more than 40 countries around the world. VNVC is the first unit to deploy this vaccine.
With modern technology, the vaccine is effective in preventing all 4 types of dengue virus that cause the disease (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, DEN-4), for children from 4 years old and adults, with an effectiveness of up to 80% and prevents the risk of hospitalization by up to 90%.
In particular, the vaccine is effective in preventing reinfection for people who have had dengue fever, which is significant for Vietnam because the number of people who have had dengue fever at least once is quite high. With the condition that the next infection is often more severe than the previous one, timely vaccination helps people protect their health and lives.
Ms. Vu Thi Thu Ha, Director of Supply System of VNVC Vaccination, said that as a comprehensive strategic partner with Takeda, VNVC has placed orders early and worked with the manufacturer to bring a large quantity of dengue fever vaccine to Vietnam, promptly preventing the disease for children and adults. Especially in the context of increasingly complex epidemiological developments of the disease, no longer cyclical, controlling mosquito vectors is difficult and treating dengue fever is complicated and expensive, but the mortality rate remains high if not detected accurately and treated promptly.
The timing of dengue fever vaccination is even more meaningful when many epidemics, especially dengue fever, are becoming more complicated, with the number of cases increasing as storms and floods occur consecutively.
Taking his wife and children to get vaccinated against dengue fever at VNVC Hoang Van Thu (HCMC), Ms. Kim Yen (37 years old, Go Vap district) said that he and his daughter had contracted dengue fever and had to be hospitalized for treatment, which was costly.
“I am very obsessed with dengue fever. When I heard that there was a vaccine, I had to arrange for my whole family to get vaccinated immediately because the doctor said that I could get it four times in my life, and each time would be more severe than the last,” Yen shared.
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 type DEN-2 is often associated with severe cases of dengue fever and epidemics, as well as being the major cause of deaths related to dengue fever.
MSc. Dr. Le Hong Nga, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), said that in recent years, the dengue fever epidemic has changed, no longer developing in cycles but increasing steadily every year, especially at the end of the year. The cause of this situation is the consequences of urbanization and global warming, which have created favorable conditions for disease-causing mosquitoes to thrive.
“The implementation of dengue fever vaccination in Vietnam helps the preventive health sector and people have more weapons to prevent and effectively deal with dengue fever,” Ms. Nga assessed and noted that people still need to maintain other epidemic prevention measures such as cleaning the living environment, sleeping under mosquito nets, etc. in addition to vaccination to control the epidemic effectively and sustainably,” emphasized MSc. Dr. Le Hong Nga.
Dr. Nguyen Minh Tuan, Head of the Dengue Fever Department, Children's Hospital 1 (HCMC) said that the disease can occur in children and adults, but in children, the disease has a high risk of severe progression and a high mortality rate because the initial signs are often easily confused with many other diseases. Children often do not know how to describe the symptoms of the disease, so the disease is often detected late, making treatment difficult. Currently, there is no specific treatment for the disease, mainly symptomatic treatment such as blood filtration, plasma exchange, anti-shock... The cost of treating a severe case of dengue fever can be up to hundreds of millions of dong.
Sharing more about the burden of dengue fever, Dr. Bach Thi Chinh said that if they survive a severe dengue infection with complications, nearly 70% of patients will have reduced ability to work, more than 50% of people will live with symptoms such as joint pain, muscle pain, weakness, weak limbs, hair loss... for up to 2 years. For pregnant women, dengue fever can cause fetal distress, premature birth, stillbirth. The mother may suffer from uncontrollable bleeding, preeclampsia, liver and kidney damage, and prolonged bleeding during labor, which can be life-threatening.
Over the past 8 years, VNVC has worked with the world's leading vaccine companies to bring dozens of new vaccines to Vietnam for children and adults, helping people have more opportunities to be vaccinated with many important vaccines to prevent many dangerous diseases. Since the beginning of 2024, VNVC has brought 3 new vaccines to prevent meningococcal meningitis B, pneumococcal 23 vaccine and dengue fever vaccine. It is expected that in the near future, VNVC will continue to bring shingles vaccine to Vietnam to serve the vaccination to prevent new infections and recurrence of the disease for people aged 18 and over.
