20 Sep Pneumococcal Vaccine Scorecard
There are highly effective vaccines to prevent pneumonia. These include the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and the haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine (Hib), which target the leading bacterial causes of childhood pneumonia, as well as vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP), measles (MCV), flu, and COVID-19. The expansion of this “basket” of pneumonia-fighting vaccines has contributed to a 56% decline in childhood pneumonia deaths from an estimated 1.4 million in 2000 to 610,000 in 2023. Critically, new vaccines are now available that target a leading cause of viral pneumonia – respiratory syncytial virus or RSV – and a vaccine to prevent a leading bacterial cause of pneumonia – klebsiella pneumoniae – is in development.
But despite recent progress, there are still massive gaps in coverage of these vaccines – particularly for PCV. One in three children under five globally are still not protected and more than half of child pneumonia deaths are in countries with no and low pneumonia vaccine coverage. And 20 countries do not even offer the PCV, including some with the heavy burdens of child pneumonia deaths – China, Egypt, Guinea, Syria, Thailand, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Viet Nam.
The Every Breath Counts Pneumococcal Vaccine Scorecard ranks the 20 countries that are home to the vast majority of children whose deaths could be prevented with full coverage of the PCV, according to the Lives Saved Tool (LiST). It finds that between 2025 and 2030, 120,000 child deaths could be prevented with 90% coverage of the PCV, representing a massive 80% of all additional child lives that could be saved with full coverage of PCV over the period.
These children are located in just 20 countries,* 12 in Africa, six in Asia, and two in the Middle East. Thirteen of the countries are eligible for financial and technical support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance while eleven are fragile and/or conflict-affected, according to the World Bank. Of great concern, four are yet to introduce the PCV (China, Egypt, Guinea, and Viet Nam).
Every Breath Counts is calling on all 20 governments to protect 90% of their children with PCV as a critical Child Survival Action strategy in the countdown to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) deadline. Global vaccine and humanitarian agencies should prioritize the provision of information and resources, where applicable, to help these countries achieve this goal.
As PCV is one of the most expensive childhood vaccines, strategies to improve the cost-effectiveness of PCV programs are urgently needed. There is an effective, 30% more affordable PCV available from the Serum Institute of India (but only seven countries are currently using it), as well as evidence that two PCV doses are as effective as three. There are also next-generation PCVs coming that offer protection against more serotypes.
Governments and their partners should explore all options to strengthen the sustainability of PCV programs because high and sustained PCV coverage delivers huge benefits, including:
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- Reductions in child pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis deaths, accelerating achievement of SDG 3.2
- Reductions in catastrophic health care costs for families forced to pay the high costs of child pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis hospitalization
- Reductions in antimicrobial resistance as higher PCV vaccination means lower demand for antibiotics to treat pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis
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Join the movement to close the remaining PCV coverage gaps and help the world take another leap forward for child survival!
*In order of lives saved – Nigeria, Chad, Somalia, India, Guinea, Angola, Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Indonesia, China, Viet Nam, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, and Cameroon.
View the Every Breath Counts Pneumococcal Vaccine Scorecard
World Pneumonia Day, 12 November 2025