Experimental Viral Pneumonia Vaccine Could Save Thousands Of Newborn Lives If Mothers Get Immunized

CNN: A new way to protect babies from pneumonia
Keith Klugman, director of the pneumonia team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

“…Data available to date shows that when a pregnant woman receives a vaccine she can naturally produce antibodies that she then passes on to the baby. Therefore, immunizing expectant mothers is a potentially groundbreaking approach that could dramatically reduce the number of child deaths. … We are thrilled that a promising vaccine to tackle the leading cause of viral pneumonia (respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV), appears closer to reality than ever. … [T]he Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a grant of up to $89 million to Novavax, Inc. to develop this vaccine against RSV in high- and low-income countries. The funding will go toward a larger trial to better understand how effective this vaccine is for pregnant women and their newborns. … A new vaccine to tackle viral pneumonia would be a major scientific achievement and, more importantly, would have the potential to save thousands of lives…” (10/23).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.