Impact of introducing the pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines into the routine immunization program in Niger

B.Y. Lee, T.-M. Assi, J. Rajgopal, B.A. Norman, S.-I. Chen, S.T. Brown, R.B. Slayton, S. Kone, H. Kenea, J.S. Welling, D.L. Connor, A.R. Wateska, A. Jana, A.E. Wiringa, W.G. Van Panhuis and D.S. Burke

American Journal of Public Health, 2012, vol. 102, issue 2, 269-276

Abstract: Objectives. We investigated whether introducing the rotavirus and pneumococcal vaccines, which are greatly needed in West Africa, would overwhelm existing Schains (i.e., the series of steps required to get a vaccine from the manufacturers to the target population) in Niger. Methods. As part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Vaccine Modeling Initiative, we developed a computational model to determine the impact of introducing these new vaccines to Niger's Expanded Program on Immunization vaccine Schain. Results. Introducing either the rotavirus vaccine or the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine could overwhelm available storage and transport refrigerator space, creating bottlenecks that would prevent the flow of vaccines down to the clinics. As a result, the availability of all World Health Organization Expanded Program on Immunization vaccines to patients might decrease from an average of 69% to 28.2% (range=10%-51%). Addition of refrigerator and transport capacity could alleviate this bottleneck. Conclusions. Our results suggest that the effects on the vaccine Schain should be considered when introducing a new vaccine and that computational models can help assess evolving needs and prevent problems with vaccine delivery.

Date: 2012
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2011.300218_9

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300218

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