French pharmaceutical company Sanofi recently launched the world’s first dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, in the Philippines.
“For now, though, Department of Health Secretary Janette Garin said that the cost of the vaccine will have to be shouldered by those who want protection against the mosquito-borne disease, except for Grade 4 public school pupils in the high-risk areas previously identified by the government,” reports Jocelyn R. Uy in Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Garin explained that “the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. was not yet considering providing dengue vaccine coverage to the more than 89 million Filipinos enrolled in (PhilHealth) mainly because of the hefty price tag.”
You see, a dose of the vaccine costs about PHP4,500 to PHP5,000, which is already more than twice the amount in annual premiums charged by PhilHealth. Moreover, each person would need three doses of it. That adds up to PHP13,500 to PHP15,000 per individual.
For the record, “PhilHealth charges PHP2,400 as annual premium to members but shoulders the contributions of some five million senior citizens and 45.4 million indigents.”
The report noted: “But Garin reiterated that the health agency would push through giving the vaccine for free this year to more than one million nine-year-old students in public schools in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon — the three regions that registered the highest dengue incidence last year.”
The vaccine is recommended for people nine to 45 years old.
