[ad_1]
Posted on May 5, 2019 | Health |
DENGVAXIE. The world's first dengue vaccine is administered to Filipino students as part of the government's dengue immunization program in schools. Joel Liporada / Rappler photo file
By Michaeleen Doucleff / npr.org – The US Food and Drug Administration has just approved one of the most sought-after vaccines in recent decades. It is the first vaccine in the world to prevent dengue fever – a disease so painful that it is called "bone fever".
The vaccine, called Dengvaxia, aims to help children in Puerto Rico and other US territories where dengue fever is a problem.
But this vaccine has a dark – and deadly – history. One has resulted in criminal prosecution in the Philippines, triggered national panic and fueled a mbadive measles epidemic that has already killed more than 355 people.
Preoccupation
This story begins on a stage in Manila in 2016.
A girl of about 9 or 10 years old was sitting in a chair surrounded by health workers. She wore a bright yellow t-shirt with the words "Dengue is dangerous". She pressed her eyes and bit her lip as the health secretary of the Philippines, Dr. Janette Garin, shot her in the arm.
This shot launched a mbadive vaccination campaign to vaccinate nearly one million schoolchildren against Dengvaxia. The goal was to save thousands of children's lives and avert about 10,000 hospitalizations over a five-year period.
Full story
Find more like this: Health
<! –
[ad_2]
Source link
