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Much hope placed on new children’s pneumonia vial

The Immunization and Vaccines Development Programme of Tanzania (IVDPT) will, from next year, adopt a new pneumonia vaccine vial for children.

What you need to know:

The new development means that health workers in Tanzania will now save the costs they have been incurring by transporting the vaccine in bulky storage facilities to remote parts of the country.

Dar es Salaam. The Immunization and Vaccines Development Programme of Tanzania (IVDPT) will, from next year, adopt a new pneumonia vaccine vial for children, in an effort to address logistical challenges in the storage and transportation of the jab.

The new development means that health workers in Tanzania will now save the costs they have been incurring by transporting the vaccine in bulky storage facilities to remote parts of the country.

The IVDPT Manager, Dr Dafroza Lymo, told The Citizen yesterday that the new form of the pneumonia vaccine, known as the multi-doze vial, will also be less costly compared to the vaccine model that is currently on the market.

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“By adopting the multi-dose vial, it means that the country will save 20 cents per doze of the vaccine and this can translate into huge savings,’’ said Dr Lymo at the sidelines of the Africa Regional Pneumococcal Conference in Dar es Salaam.

“Currently, what we have is the one doze of the pneumonia vaccine contained in a vial (bottle). This means we have to transport several bottles of the vaccine. The coming form means that we will have four dozes accommodated in one vial, which is easier and cheaper to store in our cold chain facilities,’’ she added.

She explained, furthrmore, that the cost of purchasing the vaccine will fall from $3.30 per dose to $3.10 per dose for the new four-dose vial jab.By the year 2018, the Global Alliance for Vaccines (Gavi), projects that most developing countries will have transitioned to the use of the new multi-dose vial but, according to Dr Lymo, Tanzania will make an earlier transition, by as early as 2017.

According to the Scientific Director of the Agency for Preventive Medicine (AMP), Dr Brad Gessner, Tanzania stands to gain from an early transition by ensuring that children in the most remote areas can receive this life-saving vaccine.

“There is need for more public awareness campaigns and such innovative solutions for the hard-to-reach-areas,’’ Dr Gessner told The Citizen.

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