Philippines launched the first public immunization program for dengue fever, seeking to administer to a million schoolchildren the world's first licensed vaccine against a mosquito-borne disease that the World Health Organization estimates infects 390 million people a year globally. The Philippines had the highest dengue incidence in the WHO's Western Pacific region from 2013 to 2015, recording 200,415 cases last year, according to the Department of Health. The name of the vaccine is "DENGVAXIA ". The vaccine is given.
as three dose series, with the doses coming six months apart. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, a study of children from 9 to 16 year's old showed that vaccine reduces the risk of contracting dengue by 65.6%. It also prevents dengue hospitalizations by 80%, and severe dengue cases by 93%. But the effectiveness was lower for children younger than 9, as well…
