Minister says dengue vaccine safe
The Jakarta Post | Sat, 06/11/2011 11:47 AM
Ahead of ASEAN Dengue Day on June 15, Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih assured the public that dengue vaccinations were safe.
Endang said vaccinations in Indonesia had been given to 2,000 children in Jakarta, Bandung and Bali. The vaccination trial was now moving into phase three, which will be in five Asian countries simultaneously.
"Regarding its safety, the vaccination trial would not have made it to phase three if its safety was not guaranteed," she said Friday as quoted by kompas.com.
According to Endang, the purpose of the dengue vaccination trial was to compare the level of vulnerability to dengue of children given the vaccine and those who were not.
"We want to find out whether the vaccination is able to protect children," she said.
Should the vaccination trial prove effective, the vaccine will be made available to the general public by 2016.
The ministry will host an ASEAN conference to discuss issues related to dengue on June 13 with 150 participants from 10 countries.
The official launch will be at the National Monument on Wednesday, June 15. (awd)
