A Japanese vaccine against dengue may arrive this year, the Department of Health (DoH) said Wednesday.

In a televised interview, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently studying its approval of the dengue vaccine produced by Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

“I already talked to them (Takeda) last year and they have applied for a CPR (Certificate of Product Registration) with our FDA,” Herbosa said in Filipino.

“So we’re just waiting for the FDA. It still needs to review the requirements Takeda has submitted, and once that gets approved, the vaccine will arrive,” he said.

Herbosa noted, however, that the vaccine is not the only way to control the rise in dengue cases.

He said that vector control is the more effective way to control the viral infection, highlighting the Wolbachia Program, an initiative of Singapore that uses the bacteria in mosquitoes to disrupt the dengue transmission process.

“Vaccination is not the solution; vector control is. I know this because I also worked in Malaysia. Vector control is truly the crucial solution for dengue during the season. Even if you vaccinate many people, it’s useless because you need two doses,” he said.

According to Singapore’s National Environment Agency, Project Wolbachia uses male Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti (Wolbachia-Aedes) mosquitoes to reduce the dengue mosquito population.

Since its implementation in that country in 2023, Singapore has been able to reduce the Aedes aegypti mosquito population resulting in up to 77 percent of the human population less likely to get dengue in the mosquito release areas.

“So there are two things I’m waiting for — the Takeda vaccine and the Wolbachia studies that can be conducted here or in other countries,” Herbosa said.