24 Jan Pneumonia vaccine ‘to save thousands of lives’
Posted at 19:58h
in News
A new vaccine against pneumonia is being rolled out in Africa which estimates suggest could save more than half a million lives a year globally.
The GAVI Alliance, a global health partnership of public and private sectors for immunisation, says 19 countries will get the jab at first.
Kenyan children have begun receiving it and Sierra Leone, Yemen, Honduras and Guyana will follow this year.
Infants in Nicaragua also started receiving the vaccine a few weeks ago.
Many more countries could benefit if the funding becomes available.
GAVI says it needs an extra £500m ($800m) annually for the next five years to meet a shortfall in immunisation for existing and new vaccines.