The Philippines is officially the first country in Asia to approve the first dengue vaccine in the world. According to the World Health Organization, about half of the world’s population is now at risk of getting this mosquito-borne viral infection.
Dengue causes a flu-like illness with various symptoms, including muscle and joint pain, and sometimes even becomes lethal in the form of severe dengue. More and more people all over the world are getting affected by it, especially here in Asia, so if this vaccine can really prevent millions of deaths caused by dengue, then it really is a god-send. Read more about dengue here: What You Need to Know About Dengue Fever
The vaccine is called Dengvaxia and is manufactured by Sanofi, a French pharmaceutical giant. A few weeks ago, Mexico was the first to approve this vaccine in the world, and the Philippines is the second country to follow in its footsteps. It is also being reviewed by more countries in Latin America and Asia at the moment.
After a lifetime of not having been able to cure dengue, the fact that scientists have finally found a drug that is capable of immunising the infection and reducing the risk of hospitalisation by 80% is astounding. Sanofi has worked on this cure for 20 years and has spent 1.5 billion Euros on it. Money well spent in my opinion!
