Two more health units participate in dengue vaccine study

The city of Rio de Janeiro began a study of the dengue vaccine in two more health units in the West Zone this Saturday (24/2). The new phase is also being rolled out in stages, and eligible users are those registered at the Raul Barroso and Maia Bittencourt municipal health centers in the Guaratiba neighborhood. Conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), the research by the Municipal Health Department (SMS) plans to immunize 20 residents of the area between the ages of 18 and 40 who are actively registered at one of the ten Primary Care units in the region, which was chosen for the study due to its history of recording many cases of the disease.

The vaccine is recognized by Anvisa and its effectiveness has already been proven. The Guaratiba study will help the Ministry of Health in making decisions to expand the age range, which currently includes the population aged 10 to 14 in the national vaccination program. In the city of Rio de Janeiro, vaccination for children and adolescents began this Friday (23/02), in a staggered manner, for children aged 10.

Change in the criteria for selecting volunteers

The Guaratiba region (neighborhoods of Guaratiba, Barra de Guaratiba, Pedra de Guaratiba and Ilha de Guaratiba) has approximately 67 thousand residents between the ages of 18 and 40 registered in Primary Care. The research will work with 20 thousand people and, starting today (24), any citizen can volunteer. The previously adopted method, which stipulated as criteria for defining participants those born in the months of May, August, October and November, will no longer be considered. All volunteers, residents of the region registered in Primary Care and within the stipulated age range, can participate in the study, except pregnant women or people who are breastfeeding, in case of having contracted dengue in the last six months, with immunosuppression problems or if they received blood products in the last three months. Those interested in participating can advance their pre-registration at survey link. After this step, health agents will contact you to provide more information.

– Today, we began vaccinating residents treated at two more municipal health centers, expanding our study here in the Guaratiba region. These studies are important whenever a new vaccine is introduced. The volunteers will be monitored for two years, so that we can test the effectiveness of the vaccine in this age group – said the municipal health secretary, Daniel Soranz.

Vaccination at the Raul Barroso and Maia Bittencourt municipal health centers, for eligible users registered at the unit, will continue until March 1st. On March 2nd, it will begin at other units in the region. The schedule with the dates on which each unit will be covered will be released later.

Before starting the immunization, participants fill out a consent form, answer a questionnaire with health data and undergo a serology test, which determines which of them have already had contact with a serotype of the dengue virus. The vaccine will be administered in a two-dose schedule with a 90-day interval, totaling 40 doses. The application of the first dose corresponds to the initial stage of the study. In the second phase, participants will complete the immunization cycle exactly three months after receiving the first dose. The research will last a total of two years, during which time participants will be monitored and scientists will collect information on cases, hospitalizations and deaths to observe the difference in the behavior of the virus between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

The first volunteer to be vaccinated this Saturday morning in Guaratiba, self-employed Simon Moreno, 23, a resident of the region, arrived promptly at 8 am to participate in the testing and highlighted the importance of the initiative.

– Vaccination is essential, especially in areas that are experiencing a lot of cases, like Guaratiba. We are already seeing deaths due to dengue fever. They are few, but you never know what might happen later, so it is important to have the vaccine. It doesn’t hurt at all, and it encourages other people to get vaccinated too.

About the Qdenga vaccine

Manufactured by the Japanese laboratory Takeda, the Qdenga vaccine was approved by the National Commission for the Incorporation of Technologies (Conitec), of the Ministry of Health, and incorporated into the Unified Health System (SUS). It is made with the attenuated live virus and interacts with the immune system in order to provoke a response similar to that generated by natural infection.

The vaccine provides protection against the four existing subtypes of the dengue virus (DENV1, DENV2, DENV3 and DENV4) and should therefore be administered even to those who have already had the disease.

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February 24, 2024

Appointments: dengue Study Guaratiba vacina