The recent announcement of a vaccine by French drug company Sanofi was, without a doubt, one of the best things to come out of efforts to fight dengue.
But according to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S.Subramaniam, the newly released vaccine could provide effective protection to only 47 per cent of dengue patients.
Bernama quoted Dr Subramaniam as saying that the country needed an ideal vaccine to protect from all dengue serotypes or — at the very least — be able to resist serotype 2.
“As such, the Health Ministry needed to conduct a study taking into consideration several factors before applying the vaccine on the people,” he was quoted as saying, adding that while the vaccine could be used for young patients aged nine to 19, it was not suitable for those below the age of nine.
The vaccine has so far been rolled out in Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines while Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia are studying its effectiveness.
