Brazil received this Saturday (20) the first batch of dengue vaccines intended for application by the Unified Health System (SUS). The announcement was made by the Ministry of Health this Sunday (21). The shipment consists of 750,000 doses donated by the Japanese laboratory Takeda.
As informed by the government, the first doses will be targeted at teenagers aged between 10 and 14 who live in municipalities with more than 100 thousand inhabitants. The selection of the target audience considers dengue transmission rates.
The number of dengue cases in the first two weeks of 2024 was more than double that recorded in the same period last year, according to data from the Ministry of Health. There were 55.8 thousand probable cases. Six people died from complications from the disease.
Initially, the government stated that the vaccination of children and young people between 6 and 14 years old would be prioritized, but in a statement released this Sunday the Ministry of Health informed that the target audience for the first shipment will be individuals between 10 and 14 years old.
“The age group of 10 to 14 years old is within the range recommended by the WHO and is also the one in which the highest number of hospitalizations occurs”, declared the Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade.
The vaccines arrived in Brazil at Viracopos airport, in Campinas, and will undergo quality control. They will then be sent to the Ministry of Health, which will distribute the doses throughout Brazil.
According to the ministry, the vaccines will be destined for municipalities with more than 100 thousand inhabitants with high transmission of the disease in the last ten years, also taking into account high rates in recent months.