Nicole Bates, who leads the advocacy strategy for polio and vaccines at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes in the foundation’s “Impatient Optimists” blog about the launch on Thursday of a pentavalent vaccine in Indonesia. Bates, who attended the launch ceremony, writes, “Yesterday’s launch was remarkable and is testament to the progress we’re making as a global immunization and health community,” and she lists three reasons. “First, this single vaccine protects children from five diseases that are responsible for preventable illness and death among young children”; “[s]econd, the vaccine is produced by BioFarma, a company owned by the Indonesian government”; and “[l]astly, Indonesia is on track to graduate from financial support from the GAVI Alliance … at the end of 2016,” she states (8/23).