PRESS RELEASE
31 JANUARY 2025
CUA TO DOH: WHERE IS DENGUE VACCINE?
“Why is there still no dengue vaccine in the country?”
This was the question posed by Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines president and Quirino governor Dax Cua to the Department of Health, as he expressed his concern that the country might find it difficult to curb the number of Filipinos infected with the disease.
“The Health Secretary last year said that the license for a second-generation dengue vaccine could be approved within 2024, but here we are at the end of January 2025 and we have yet to be updated on the status of the much-needed vaccine,” Cua said.
Last July 2024, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said that the Food and Drug Administration could approve the QDENGA vaccine of Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceuticals within the year. The company had already filed a certificate of product registration (CPR) from the FDA in 2023.
The governor lamented that the Philippines is being left behind by its neighbor countries in managing the infectious disease, as the country tallied the highest number of cases and fatalities in the ASEAN last year.
“Malaki sana ang maitutulong ng dengue vaccine, na ginagamit na rin ng ating mga karatig-bansa, sa pagtugon sa banta ng dengue. Kaya sana sa lalong madaling panahon ay maaprubahan na natin ang paggamit nito,” Cua said.
Cua also questioned why the Department of Health has still not released data about the total number of dengue cases in 2024, with the last national aggregate being reported in November.
Back in November, the DOH reported that there had been 340,860 dengue cases from January 1 to November 16, 2024, which is 81 percent higher than the 188,574 cases logged during the same period in 2023.
“We need the annual report so we can see the full picture and properly assess just how much of a threat dengue is. But right now we are blind, and therefore unable to prepare adequately. Bakit nga ba wala pang 2024 data tungkol sa dengue?” said Cua.
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