U.K. To Reduce Number Of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Doses To 2 From 3; Move Could Pave Way For Similar Policies In LMICs, Other Countries

The Telegraph: World watches as U.K. announces it will drop key childhood vaccine to two doses
“The U.K. is set to become the first country in the world to cut a key childhood vaccine from three to two doses in a move that experts hope will encourage poorer countries to eventually follow suit. Last July a government advisory group, the [U.K.] Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), recommended that the dosing schedule for the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) be reduced from three to two doses after a Lancet Infectious Diseases study showed that the vaccine was just as effective and safe when given in two shots. … Experts believe that the change could eventually pave the way for similar policies in lower and middle-income countries, saving them significant amounts of money. … In a statement, [vaccine maker] Pfizer said it did not support the government’s decision to reduce the number of doses which could ‘potentially pose a significant public health risk'” (Gulland, 4/16).

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