WHO Updates Pneumonia Vaccine Policy To Reach More Children

A press release from the Medical Research Council-The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (MRCG at LSHTM) on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, stated that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has updated its Pneumococcal Vaccine Policy to enable it to reach more children worldwide. According to the release, the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines (PCVs) protect children from the dangerous Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterium, which is the most common cause of severe pneumonia, septicaemia and meningitis.

The release said PCVs have saved more than 1.6 million lives since they were introduced in the year 2000. However, it said the relatively high cost of PCVs poses a barrier to sustainable access in many countries. Below is the continuation of the release:

‘‘Measures to increase access to the vaccine have recently been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), following extensive research, including landmark studies at the MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM and trials in countries such as Vietnam, South Africa, India, the UK, Kenya, and Niger. This research has focused on strategies to increase PCV coverage, reduce costs, and save more lives, especially among vulnerable communities, by evaluating reduced-dose schedules and fractional dosing approaches.’’

‘‘The Pneumococcal Vaccine Schedules (PVS) study at the MRC Unit, The Gambia was conducted in close collaboration with the Gambian Ministry of Health (MoH). It evaluated whether a two-dose (1p+1) schedule of PCV was safe and as effective as the standard three-dose (3p+0) schedule. The reduction from three to two doses would lower national and global costs of PCV, simplify vaccination schedules, free up resources for other immunisation efforts, and mean fewer injections for infants.’’

‘‘Initiated in 2019, the study enrolled 33,001 infants in rural Gambia over 4 years, providing the alternative 1p+1 schedule or the standard 3p+0 schedule to all infants resident in the study area. The findings of PVS show that the 1p+1 schedule is safe and just as effective as the 3p+0 schedule at preventing pneumococcal diseases and controlling the transmission of pneumococcal bacteria in the community.’’

‘‘The WHO has now expanded its recommendations on PCV use to allow countries with high vaccine coverage, strong existing community immunity and sufficient surveillance capacity to give two instead of the usual three doses or administer fractional doses. WHO published the new policy in its Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER) based on recommendations from its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE), following a thorough review of global evidence.

Commenting on the new policy, Professor Umberto D’Alessandro, Unit Director at MRCG at LSHTM, emphasised, “the new policy marks a critical step forward in global immunisation efforts. The PVS study is an example of how local research partnerships can shape impactful global health policy. The introduction of a simplified vaccine schedule could significantly increase access to life-saving vaccines, particularly in resource-limited settings, thus reducing childhood mortality from pneumococcal disease.”

‘‘Dr Grant Mackenzie, Principal Investigator for the PVS study, commented on the study’s potential to transform vaccine access: “The PVS study, a 4-year collaborative effort between the MRCG and the MoH, aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a two-dose compared to a three-dose PCV schedule. PVS indicated that the two-dose schedule can be considered for adoption in many settings, widening the reach to more children, with greater sustainability at the country level and for international partners.”

‘‘The findings of PVS will continue to play a crucial role in shaping global immunisation policy, enhancing the reach and impact of PCV programs worldwide. The study was funded through the UKRI’s Joint Global Health Trials scheme, UK MRC, Wellcome Trust, UK Aid Direct, UK NIHR, UK NIHR Mucosal Pathogens Research Unit, and the Gates Foundation.’’