Vietnam completes research on dengue fever vaccine (Source: nhandan.com.vn)
The research was sponsored by Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of pharmaceutical company Sanofi.
Dr Tran Ngoc Huu, former director of the HCMC Pasteur Institute and head of the research group, said that that Sanofi Pasteur’s Dengvaxia vaccine began to be studied more than 20 years ago and has undergone many research phases on both humans and animals.
From 2011 to 2017, two major studies on the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness were completed in 10 countries, including five in Southeast Asia, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
In Vietnam, the vaccine was tested on 2,336 children, aged 2-14, in the two Mekong Delta provinces of An Giang and Tien Giang.
The results from the two studies in Southeast Asia and the Americas show that Dengvaxia is highly effective in preventing dengue fever in children aged 9-16, who were determined to have been previously infected.
Dr Huu confirmed that all children in Vietnam who participated in the research are safe without any complications.
As of May 2019, 54 countries around the world have approved the use of the Dengvaxia vaccine.
In Vietnam, the research results have already been submitted to an ethics council under the Ministry of Health for approval and licensing.
Dr Huu stated that, after Dengvaxia is approved for use in Vietnam, Sanofi Pasteur is committed to providing the dengue vaccine at the most affordable price for Vietnam./.