Mexico Approves Qdenga Dengue Vaccine for Use in High-Risk Areas

Mexico City — Mexico’s health regulator has approved a new dengue vaccine for use in high-transmission areas, particularly for children aged 6 to 16. The Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris) granted sanitary registration to Qdenga, a vaccine developed by Thailand’s Mahidol University in collaboration with Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda.

The vaccine, also known as TAK-003, contains weakened versions of all four dengue virus serotypes and is recommended by the World Health Organization for preventing the mosquito-borne disease. According to Cofepris, Qdenga is already being used in 41 countries worldwide, including several Latin American nations like Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, and Colombia, where it forms part of dengue prevention strategies.

The vaccination regimen consists of two doses administered at least three months apart. WHO also recommends considering the vaccine for people with comorbidities living in dengue-endemic countries like Mexico, even if they fall outside the suggested age range.

In other countries, the vaccine costs between $40 and $115 per dose, though several Latin American nations distribute it free of charge in high-incidence regions.

This approval marks a reversal from 2021, when Cofepris’s Committee on New Molecules rejected Qdenga’s registration, along with modifications to Dengvaxia, another dengue vaccine currently marketed in Mexico by Sanofi under restricted use conditions.