SHAH ALAM, July 10 — The Selangor government is taking a cautious stance on the dengue vaccine, and will monitor its use and impact before launching any initiatives.
State executive councillor for public health and environment Jamaliah Jamaluddin said although the Selangor State Health Department (JKNS) has acknowledged the vaccine’s potential, the federal government has yet to encourage its widespread use as it is still new to Malaysia.
“The dengue vaccine is still relatively new — it hasn’t even been in use for five years. According to the JKNS, it shows promise, but its long-term effects are still unclear.
“For now, JKNS advises us to continue monitoring and assessing before implementing any dengue vaccination programmes,” she said during the Selangor State Legislative Assembly sitting here today.
She was responding to a supplementary question from Dr Quah Perng Fei (Harapan-Bandar Baru Klang) on the state’s dengue immunisation plans.
She said Selangor logged 13,685 dengue cases from January 1 to July 5 (epidemiological weeks one to 27) — a sharp drop of 66.1 per cent from 40,313 cases in the same period in 2024.
“Five dengue-related deaths have been reported, compared with 12 in the corresponding period last year,” Jamaliah added.
— Bernama
