Chile, NZ to use GSK pneumococcal vaccine

MANILA, Philippines - GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) pneumococcal vaccine has been chosen to be incorporated in the national immunization programs for newborns and infants in Chile and New Zealand.

These are two of the latest countries to choose the GSK vaccine to reduce the spread of severe and common childhood invasive pneumococcal diseases such as meningitis, pneumonia as well as the middle ear infections which are common and non-invasive.

This is the first time the Chilean government will implement an immunization program for pneumococcal disease, which will cover 250,000 newborns.

In New Zealand, the GSK vaccine will replace the existing pneumococcal vaccine in the childhood immunization program by mid-2011 as health authorities committed to use it for at least three years to benefit young children.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that infections caused by the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterium are the leading causes of deaths among children all over the world, with more than one million dying from pneumococcal meningitis and pneumonia every year.

This bacterium does not only cause deaths, it can also cause hearing impairment and developmental problems in children.

Vaccination is the only public health measure likely to have any significant impact on reducing the number of new cases of pneumococcal diseases.

The WHO considers the implementation of routine immunization programs against pneumococcal diseases a global health priority.

The high public health burden of middle ear infections and link to high levels of antibiotic prescriptions and resulting resistance, underline the need for vaccination.

In the Philippines, reports from the Department of Health (DOH) state that pneumonia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children five years old and below.

Statistics gathered in 2008 showed that 13,545 children aged one month to less than five years died of pneumonia in that year alone, accounting for 34 percent of deaths in Filipino children in that age range.

“GSK is working with the government and different organizations in the Philippines to protect more children from pneumococcal disease through vaccination,” said Dr. Sally Gatchalian, GSK Philippines’ medical affairs director.

In line with its ValueHealth commitment to make its globally trusted medicine and vaccines more accessible to Filipinos, GSK has made its pneumococcal vaccine up to 40 percent more affordable compared to other available vaccines in the Philippines.

GSK’s pneumococcal vaccine has also been selected for use in the national immunization programs of other countries such as Australia, Brazil, Finland, Hong Kong, Mexico, Taiwan and the Netherlands.