The WHO argued that vaccine development should focus more on the needs of populations and that it is the poorest communities that suffer the most from diseases
The World Health Organization (WHO) published for the first time on Tuesday a list of 17 pathogens for which “vaccines are urgently needed.”
“We do it because we would like to Vaccine development would no longer focus on commercial performance and would instead focus on regional and global health needs.Mateusz Hasso-Agopsowicz, WHO vaccine expert, highlighted during a press conference.
This is “the first global effort to prioritize endemic pathogens based on criteria including regional burden of disease, risk of antimicrobial resistance and socioeconomic impact,” the WHO explained in a statement.
The development of vaccines against these 17 pathogens is in different stages, some are still in the research phase, such as hepatitis C, while others are close to being approved by the authorities, being subject to political recommendation or being introduced in the markets. , as in the case of the dengue virus.
These vaccines “would significantly reduce diseases that strongly affect communities today”but “also the medical costs faced by families and health systems,” said Kate O’Brien, director of the WHO vaccination department, quoted in the statement.
In its choices, WHO confirms long-standing priorities for vaccine research and development (R&D), particularly against HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. three diseases that together claim almost 2.5 million lives each year around the world.
The WHO also draws attention to pathogens such as group A streptococcus, which causes serious infections and is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year, especially in low-income countries.
“Another example among the new priorities is Klebsiella pneumoniae, a bacteria associated with 790,000 deaths in 2019 and responsible for 40% of neonatal deaths due to blood infections (sepsis) in low-income countries,” the WHO stated in the same note.
Hasso-Agopsowicz explained that the 17 pathogens mainly affect low-income countries.
“What has generally happened in the past is that vaccine research and development has been influenced by the cost-effectiveness of new vaccines. This means that diseases that severely affect low-income areas unfortunately receive much less attention,” he stressed.
Source: Observadora
