Malacañang on Tuesday said a dengue vaccine is currently under review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In a Palace briefing, Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the government is awaiting the response of the applicant for the dengue vaccine TAK-003, also marketed globally as Qdenga, following a series of evaluations conducted by the FDA.

“Published data show that the efficacy of TAK-003 or Qdenga is lowest among children aged 4 to 5 years compared to those 6 years old and above. The data also suggest that a possible increased risk of more severe dengue type 3 cannot be ruled out among individuals who were vaccinated but had no prior dengue infection,” Castro said in Filipino, quoting the Department of Health.

“In our country, dengue type 3 is the most common strain circulating. So let’s just wait for the applicant’s response,” she added.