00:00Trinidad and Tobago is not pursuing the acquisition of a dengue vaccine at this time.
00:05According to the Ministry of Health, there is a lot of controversy and technicalities
00:09surrounding dengue vaccination, which simply do not make it feasible.
00:14Health Minister Terence De Alcing points to several concerns surrounding dengue vaccination,
00:19particularly after the vaccine, Dengvaxia,
00:22was reported to significantly increase the risk of disease severity.
00:25The issue of vaccinations for dengue is controversial, very, very controversial.
00:36I will direct you to read the report on what happened in the Philippines,
00:43where they use the vaccines. That's all I will say.
00:48The Chief Medical Officer also notes that prior exposure to the virus
00:52makes a subsequent infection even more dangerous.
00:56If we were to give it to somebody that didn't have dengue, it primes the immune system and
01:00increases the likelihood of severe dengue. So there is a significant risk there.
01:04The other vaccine is Coal-Q Dengva, manufactured by a pharmaceutical company approved in the year
01:11Takeda, and that one is recommended for ages 4 to 16, again, in certain types,
01:17in certain epidemiological situations. And so far, we haven't gone ahead and
01:22procured because of those controversial issues and those highly technical issues that we have
01:27to consider before we use it in our public. So it is under consideration at this point in time.
01:32So basically, what are you saying? If we have to use those vaccines,
01:36we have to serotype everybody, which is simply not possible.
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