The Ministry of Health yesterday denied a Village Voice report that it had procured dengue vaccines and was keeping this a secret.
“We noticed an article published in the Village Voice on August 24, 2023 in which it asserts that the Ministry of Health (MOH) has procured dengue vaccines and keeping it a secret. It makes no sense that the MOH would secure vaccines and keep it a secret. This is simply a reckless report designed more to create confusion and to mislead the public”, the ministry said in a press release.
It said that the use of dengue vaccines in the National Dengue Control Programme is under serious consideration but a decision is yet to be made whether Guyana will introduce the jabs as part of the fight against the mosquito-borne viral infection that has claimed 11 lives this year at last count.
The ministry noted that while the dengue vaccines presently being marketed – Dengvaxia from Sanofi Pasteur and Qdenga from Takeda – are licensed in a small number of countries, they have not yet been prequalified by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
None of the following: the WHO, the US CDC and the EU regulatory authorities has recommended these vaccines for universal administration.
The WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization has been studying the dengue vaccine data and Guyana is awaiting the recommendations coming out of the SAGE Group.
Guyana’s Food and Drug Authority is prepared to license dengue vaccines as soon as a decision is made to use these, the release said.
