To save children's lives, China should adopt an initiative to speed introduction of pneumonia vaccines.

Overview

Despite rapid economic development, China has not yet incorporated into its national childhood immunization program vaccines against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae type b. Both vaccines can prevent pneumonia, the leading infectious disease killer of young children in China. In contrast, the other World Health Organization member nations with the ten largest birth cohorts have included H. influenzae type b in their national childhood immunization programs, and many of the world's wealthiest and poorest countries have done the same with S. pneumoniae. In this article we review what is known about S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae type b in China, and we make recommendations for how to accelerate the use of vaccines against these pathogens in that country. We propose that China adopt a "Chinese Accelerated Vaccine Initiative" modeled after other successful global programs. This broad effort would marshal the evidence and commitment needed to change vaccine policy, then develop and implement a plan for a sustainable, affordable supply of these and other new vaccines.