e-Risalah Jul-Sept 2024

A routine dengue vaccination programme for school children starting at age 7 years, including catch- up cohorts, can prevent 34 to 42 per cent of symptomatic cases and 38 to 47 per cent of hospitalised cases over a period of 20 years, based on a model calibrated to local dengue incidence. Dr Amirah Azzeri, the study’s lead author and senior lecturer at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), said the study examined various combinations of routine and catch-up vaccination strategies from age seven to 13 to determine an optimal dengue vaccination strategy for Malaysia. “The study finds that the most optimal strategy is to introduce one routine and four catch-up cohort vaccinations starting at age seven,” Dr Amirah said during a presentation of the study at the 7th Asia Dengue Summit 2024 here last June 6. Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad recently told reporters that including dengue vaccination in the NIP will take time, primarily due to the high cost of the vaccine. Malaysia’s NIP, first introduced in the 1950s, currently offers protection against 13 major childhood diseases. The Drug Control Authority (DCA) conditionally approved the use of Takeda’s dengue vaccine in February to prevent dengue fever in individuals aged four years and older. The addition of Takeda’s dengue vaccine intoMalaysia national immunisation programme (NIP) can reduce symptomatic dengue cases, hospitalisation, and save the countryup toUS$1 billion (RM4.3 billion) over the next three decades, according to a denguemodelling analysis. National DengueVaccination Programme May Save Malaysia RM4 Billion OverThree Decades Dengue presents a significant burden inMalaysia, with reported cases surging by 86.3 per cent from 66,102 in 2022 to 123,133 in 2023. Dengue deaths also increased by 78.6 per cent, from 56 in 2022 to 100 in 2023. Dr Amirah said that under an illustrative vaccine price of US$25 (RM108.80) per dose, all vaccination strategies tested in the study demonstrated significant cost savings over a period of 10 to 30 years. Assuming a routine cohort coverage of 85.9 per cent and catch-up cohort coverage of 60 per cent, a national dengue vaccine campaign could save up to US$1.06 billion (RM4.6 billion) over 30 years at the societal level and US$307 million (RM1.3 billion) at the payer level. The study’s cost parameters include direct medical expenses like doctor visits, hospitalisations, medications, tests; non-medical costs including transportation, meals, accommodation related to treatment; and indirect costs such as productivity losses. CampusNews 30