Dengue vaccines are already being sold in private pharmacies in Costa Rica; however, the price is of around 70 thousand colones (approximately $130), and at least three doses are required to achieve a full protection against the four serotypes that are found in the country.

The dengue vaccine can be applied to people between 9 and 45 years of age and cannot be applied to pregnant or breastfeeding women or HIV positive patients

The vaccine “Dengvaxia” was developed by French pharmaceutical house Sanofi Pasteur and it has an efficiency of 65.6%.

This year alone Costa Rica has confirmed 20,456 cases of Dengue, the majority of them located in Alajuela and Puntarenas.

According to Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine can prevent two out of every three cases of dengue, eight of every ten hospitalizations and nine out of ten cases of hemorrhagic dengue.

Dengue is transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito. According to data by the World Health Organization (WHO), there are over 96 million cases of dengue every year worldwide. The most common symptoms include sudden fever, headache, muscle pain, flushing of the face, nausea and rash.

The World Health Organization hopes to reduce by 50% the mortality caused by dengue and by 25% the morbidity in endemic countries in 2020.