Hospital Starts Offering Dengue Vaccine

[Flashermac]

Samitivej Hospital has introduced the vaccine against four strains of the dengue virus, making it the first facility in Thailand to offer immunisation against the mosquito-borne disease.

 

During the past five years, the vaccine, with the brand name Dengvaxia, was tested on over 30,000 Thai people.

When compared to the group receiving placebos, the vaccine was proven to be able to prevent the infection in 60% to 65% of the cases.

 

The vaccine was developed by the Sanofi Pasteur drug company, which is represented in Thailand as Sanofi-Aventis (Thailand) Inc.

 

"The vaccine shows around 93% efficacy in reducing the severity of the disease and over 80% effectiveness in lessening the need for hospitalisation," said Dr On-umar.

 

...

 

The three shots cost 9,600 baht, excluding doctor consultation and other fees.

 

...

 

 

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1164237/hospital-starts-offering-dengue-vaccine

 

 

That's much too high for most Thais to afford it.

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

"That's much too high for most Thais to afford it."

 

A month's pay at the minimum wage, which is likely what those people who'd need this the most are making.

 

Sanuk!

[Coss]

I had it twice, I'd get the vaccine - no hesitation

[Mekong]

I had it twice, I'd get the vaccine - no hesitation

 

But how would you afford it if you were on minimum wage in New Zealand? It is not the vaccine which is the issue her but the cost. Minimum wage in Thailand is 300 THB per day so the cost is 32 days income, lets see in New Zealand is NZD 15.25 per hour so the equivalent cost would be NZD 3,900. I very much doubt that many Kiwi minimum wage earners have a spare NZD3,900 lying around to inoculate one person.

 

If a family of Husband, Wife and 2 kids it then comes to NZD 15,600 to inoculate the whole family neigh on 6 months income for a single worker in a 4 person minimum wage family, eye watering isn't it.

 

As KS indicated the ones who need it the most are the minimum wage workers, labourers and the like and sub-minimum wage earners such as farmers, where as the ones who can afford it have a much lower exposure risk sitting in their air conditioned Ivory Towers and commuting in their Air Conditioned Benz.

 

I am sure that many of the "High Risk" Thai's would wish to have it without hesitation but they are just priced out.

[Coss]

Not arguing with ya, just saying, next time I'm there, I'm a getting it. And Merry Xmas you old denigrate

[Flashermac]

Don't think "hi-so" can't get dengue, since it's is carried by a daytime flying mozzie, and you can be bitten simply walking out on the street. I know several Thammasat University lecturers who got it, and while hardly hi-so they did drive their own a/c cars and taught in a/c classrooms. Also, that price is quite steep for a university lecturer ... unless covered by their government insurance. I'd think twice about having the shots, and I've had dengue on two occasions. Not fun.

[Coss]

"I'd think twice about having the shots, and I've had dengue on two occasions. Not fun."

 

Well there is the possibility that you and I may be immune to the possibility of death by Dengue by now. To get the haemorrhaging version, apparently you have to get the sub-types in a certain order and mathematically, getting two instances and not haemorrhaging, may reduce the chances of getting a set in the right order.

 

​Minister of Defence, he was a Hi So in Laos, got Dengue and died, or did he?

[Flashermac]

Supposedly, you won't get the same strain of dengue twice, so I should be immune to 2 types. Again (allegedly), if you've had it 3 times, you're covered against the 4th. Each time is worse, which is certainly true in my case. The first time it just knocked me out for a few days, while the second (decades later) put me flat on my back for much longer and took me a couple of months to really regain my strength again.

 

 

p.s. When the vacine becomes more available, I'd expect the Thai hospitals to offer it for much less (though still probably too much for most Thais).

[Coss]

My understanding is, much as yours, but with the proviso, that if you have them in order of say 1,2,3,4,5 and say 2,3 is the bad combination, then having 4 and 2 for example, reduces the chances of 2,3 occurring.

 

Also someone from this board had a friend in the 'business' who answered the question "What are the chances of all the strains occurring in the same geographical location?" with, "they do occur in the data, but are rare".

 

So whilst it's no guarantee, you and I are safer than a Dengue virgin.

[Flashermac]

Apparently. it's spreading these days. I spent a month in the Caribbean in 1966, and I never heard of it being there back then.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147400-i171-k5922408-Dengue_Fever-U_S_Virgin_Islands.html