MikeLigalig.com

By JENNY F. MANONGDO
Manila Bulletin

A drug company introduced Wednesday a vaccine meant to prevent children from dying due to pneumococcal disease, said to kill over two million children each year, according to international health authorities.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has considered pneumococcal disease as the number one vaccine-preventable cause of death among children below five.

The other day, Pfizer launched a new vaccine that covers against 13 serotypes of the bacteria, Streptococcus pneumoniae that causes illnesses such as sepsis, meningitis and pneumonia.

Prevenar 13 was recently approved by the US food and drug administration and is now being licensed by the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The vaccine will also benefit the non-vaccinated population and even adults, experts said.

“In the US, when the children get the vaccine, it also stopped transmission among adults. Kids were the key. Adult disease went down by 92 percent. You protect the whole community and this is called herd community,” said Dr. Keith Klugman, professor of global health, Rolin School of Public Health and professor of medicine.