Rotavirus vaccine implementation: evidence to fill the gap?

Jim P Buttery,Carl Kirkwood

doi:10.1016/s2214-109x(21)00265-5

Jim P Buttery, Carl Kirkwood

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/s2214-109x(21)00265-5

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Abstract

In the maelstrom of COVID-19, it is easy to forget the importance of non-COVID health interventions and the processes that policy makers use to choose where to allocate limited resources. Rotavirus vaccines have consistently been shown to save lives in low-income settings and to be cost-effective in most low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) when compared with no vaccination, with multiple instances where rotavirus vaccination was found to be highly cost-effective or even cost-saving.1 Of the 110 countries that have introduced rotavirus vaccines into their national immunisation programmes, 53 have accessed support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Highlights

In the maelstrom of COVID-19, it is easy to forget the importance of non-COVID health interventions and the processes that policy makers use to choose where to allocate limited resources
In The Lancet Global Health, Frédéric Debellut and colleagues evaluated the cost-effectiveness of available rotavirus vaccines in middle-income countries (MICs) that are above the income threshold for Gavi support to purchase vaccines.[2]
The authors estimated the number of rotavirus gastroenteritis cases, clinic visits, hospitalisations, and deaths averted by vaccination in children younger than 5 years over a 10-year period in 63 MICs not eligible for Gavi support

Summary

Introduction

In the maelstrom of COVID-19, it is easy to forget the importance of non-COVID health interventions and the processes that policy makers use to choose where to allocate limited resources. In The Lancet Global Health, Frédéric Debellut and colleagues evaluated the cost-effectiveness of available rotavirus vaccines in middle-income countries (MICs) that are above the income threshold for Gavi support to purchase vaccines.[2] The authors estimated the number of rotavirus gastroenteritis cases, clinic visits, hospitalisations, and deaths averted by vaccination in children younger than 5 years over a 10-year period in 63 MICs not eligible for Gavi support.

Results

Conclusion