Dengue: vaccine study begins in Rio – 02/16/2024 – Health

“I know those who had it and even those who died from dengue. Now I feel safer and I’m looking forward to receiving the second dose”, said self-employed Pauliana Soares, 32, the first person to be vaccinated against Qdenga in Rio de Janeiro, this Friday (16).

The vaccine began to be applied to residents of the Guaratiba region, in the west zone of the capital of Rio de Janeiro, for an unprecedented study on the effectiveness of the vaccine manufactured by the Japanese laboratory Takeda and recently incorporated by the Ministry of Health into the PNI (National Immunization Program) . The vaccine will be administered in two doses 90 days apart.

For the research, 20,000 adults between 18 and 40 years of age will be vaccinated, to verify the effectiveness of the vaccine in this age group. These people will be monitored for two years by researchers from Fiocruz (Fundação Oswaldo Cruz), who will observe the difference in the behavior of the virus between vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

At the end of February, the municipality will begin vaccinating children aged 10 to 14. The city received 354 thousand doses from the federal government to start the campaign.

Participation in the study is voluntary. The names are drawn among users registered in primary health care units in Guaratiba. Pregnant and breastfeeding women will not be able to participate. Anyone who has had dengue fever is not prevented from participating in the research, except if they contracted the disease in the last six months, in addition to people with immunosuppression problems.

The municipal secretary of Health, Daniel Soranz explained that the location was chosen due to the high incidence of cases and the ease of population control.

“Guaratiba was chosen because it is one of the regions with the highest incidence of dengue in Rio, in addition to having a population profile with little migration and having 100% of the area covered by primary health care,” said the secretary. In Rio, the areas of the city with the highest incidence of the disease are the neighborhoods of Guaratiba and Campo Grande.

The study proposal was presented to the federal government by the municipality’s Health Department, which, by lottery, selected the months of birth May, August, October and November as criteria for defining participants.

“It’s a historic moment for us. We hope to produce scientific articles so that we can look more safely at the next steps in vaccination,” said Soranz.

The study will last two years, with partial results in periods of six, 12, 18 and 24 months. During this time, researchers will collect information about cases, hospitalizations and deaths related to the disease. The objective is to compare the incidence of symptomatic dengue infection in a vaccinated group with a group from the same region that did not receive the doses.

Coordinator of the study, Fiocruz infectious disease doctor José Cerbino Neto said that the data collected will offer new scientific evidence for decision-making in vaccinating other audiences approved by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency).

“We need to understand this information about the vaccine in our context. Mainly so that, when making public health decisions, we can understand what it will bring in terms of cost-benefit,” he stated.

“Firstly, we will confirm the safety data and, later, how much it protects this population that has different profiles, such as different histories of exposure to dengue and other arboviruses”, added the specialist.

The study also involves researchers from the University of Brasília, under the coordination of the Evandro Chagas National Institute of Infectious Diseases.

The action is associated with research already carried out in other regions of Brazil that evaluates the effectiveness of the vaccine in the real world. This is the case of the research in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, which began on January 3rd.

“There is also national research into the effectiveness of the vaccine being developed by Fiocruz Bahia and other studies being analyzed by the Health and Environment Surveillance Secretariat of the Ministry of Health,” said Ethel Maciel, responsible for the department.

The secretary also stated that, in total, 6 million doses will be distributed to the states, which will transfer them to the municipalities, for 3 million people aged 10 to 14 years. The vaccination campaign against dengue is expected to begin later this month.

The doses began to be distributed last week, and the supply has already started in the Federal District, where the first shipment of doses arrived on the Thursday before Carnival.

The protection will be aimed nationwide at young people aged 10 to 14 from 521 cities selected by the Ministry of Health for having a higher incidence of the disease.

In Rio, vaccination for this public is scheduled to begin in the capital between the end of February. “Probably the 28th, and the first week of March, in a staggered manner, starting with boys and girls aged 10 and 11,” said Soranz.

Immunization should gradually advance to other age groups, as the 354,000 doses that will be allocated by the Ministry of Health for Rio arrive.

The capital of Rio de Janeiro already accumulates 21 thousand cases of dengue in 2024. The number is almost the same as the number of occurrences in the entire year 2023, which totaled 23 thousand occurrences. The city, which has already recorded two deaths from the disease at the beginning of the year, has been in an emergency situation since the 5th of this month.

Across the state, there will be four deaths in 2024: two in the capital, one in Mangaratiba and one in Itatiaia.