Closing the Global Immunization Gap: Delivery of Lifesaving Vaccines Through Innovation and Technology
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Closing the Global Immunization Gap: Delivery of Lifesaving Vaccines Through Innovation and Technology Sachin N. Desai, MD,* Deepak Kamat, MD, PhD† *International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, South Korea †Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University, and Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, MI Objectives After completing the article, readers should be able to: 1. Review challenges of immunizing children in resource limited settings. 2. Discuss current successes and limitations of operational strategies in the development and deployment of vaccines to the areas of greatest need. 3. Introduce innovative approaches and future interventions to address key logistical challenges encountered with vaccine delivery in developing regions. Abstract One of every 5 children does not receive basic vaccines because of concerns related to storage and delivery in resource limited countries. Transporting vaccines over long distances in extreme temperatures is a common challenge. Issues that involve production and formulation, delivery technologies, cold chain logistics, and safety factors need to be addressed to properly adapt vaccines to resource constrained settings. Current successful field interventions include United Nation Children’s Fund cold boxes, which are used to store and distribute vaccine in disaster struck areas, and vaccine vial monitors, which allow health workers to gauge whether vaccine is still usable in areas with unreliable electricity AUTHOR DISCLOSURE Drs Desai and Kamat fi and refrigeration. This review aims to provide a general overview of have disclosed no nancial relationships relevant to this article. This commentary does innovative approaches and technologies that positively affect vaccine not contain a discussion of an unapproved/ coverage and save more lives. investigative use of a commercial product/ device. ABBREVIATIONS STRENGTHENED INFRASTRUCTURE TO GET VACCINES WHERE THEY CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention NEED TO BE DTP Diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis By preventing up to 3 million deaths and protecting more than 100 million lives PATH Program for Appropriate from illness and disability, vaccines are one of the best investments in health. (1) Technology in Health Aggressive efforts against polio have decreased polio burden by 99.8%, and WHO World Health Organization complete eradication would save an estimated US $50 billion by 2035. (2) The VVM Vaccine Vial Monitor e32 Pediatrics in Review Downloaded from http://pedsinreview.aappublications.org/ by guest on September 23, 2021 Expanded Programme on Immunization has contributed Administration of vaccines in large multidose vials minimized enormously to reduce the burden of debilitating vaccine costs for older vaccines and permitted wastage rates that ex- preventable diseases, such as measles, diphtheria, pertussis, ceeded50%insomecases.(7)Thishighwastageratewas tetanus, and polio. Vaccines have the ability to save and deemed acceptable, and even encouraged, as an alternative to transform lives, allowing children to grow up healthy, attend delaying the opening of a new vial and potentially missing an school, and improve their earning potential. Simply put, opportunity to vaccinate. vaccines create wealth for the world’s poorest regions, where The launching of the Decade of Vaccines collaboration infectious diseases account for almost half of all deaths. (3) and the validation of a new Global Vaccine Action Plan However, 22 million infants are still not fully immunized require a reenergized global effort to ensure increased with routine vaccines. Despite significant accomplishments political support, improved vaccine delivery, strengthened in vaccine coverage, challenges leading to limited access to research and development of new vaccines, better supply vaccination parallel many of the barriers similarly encoun- security, and increased affordability. (8) The Decade of tered in achieving access to health care in many of these Vaccines collaboration represents a straightforward vision settings. These obstacles include political instability, con- for major international multilateral organizations to work fl ict, social and economic isolation, and traditional antivac- together to meet the challenge of achieving universal access cine beliefs . The novel strategies presented in this brief to immunization set forth by the World Health Assembly in review represent examples of modern technologies that May 2012. To adapt vaccines to poor settings, critical topics fi could be useful in helping eliminate one signi cant road- to be discussed are production and formulation, delivery block to immunizing all children. technologies, supply chain logistics, and safety factors. These innovations will play a central role in advancing CURRENT SITUATION AND CHALLENGES the use and deliver of vaccines to hard to reach populations. Reaching marginalized communities in remote areas, poor urban settings, and politically unstable regions continues to BETTER VACCINE FORMULATIONS be an obstacle in narrowing the immunization gap. Success- Optimizing vaccine production methods will help in achiev- ful distribution in these areas requires the transport of ing stronger and broader immune responses, reducing vaccines in extreme temperatures over long distances adverse events, and improving stability in extreme heat between health centers. Even with improved global and cold (Table 1). Traditional vaccines include components Expanded Programme on Immunization coverage rates, of infectious organisms, which provide stronger immune an estimated 20% of the world’s children 5 years and responses but at the cost of unacceptable adverse effects. younger do not receive the full 3-dose course of the diph- Most newer vaccines consist of highly purified recombinant theria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis vaccine (a common proteins, resulting in lower levels of immunogenicity. Con- proxy for childhood vaccination rates) as a result of high sequently, new methods use highly purified synthetic ad- vaccine prices, weak health care systems, and technical juvants to provide enhanced protection without a difficulties. (4) Unfortunate examples are highlighted in generalized nonspecific immune response (Table 2). Indian states, such as Bihar, where the 3-dose DTP vaccine coverage rates of 40% lag at least 30% behind other states, such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Disparities in these vaccine VACCINE SUPPLY CHAIN AND LOGISTICS SYSTEMS coverage rates exist in countries such as Ethiopia, where Vaccine Infrastructure and Thermostability figures by the World Health Organization (WHO) are re- Countries have relied on the same storage and transport ported as high as 86%, whereas the Ethiopia Demographic systems for more than 3 decades. High rates of wastage have and Health Surveys have documented rates as low as 37%. (5)(6) Countries eligible for discounted pricing through the GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines TABLE 1. and Immunization) have seen the total cost for purchasing Characteristics of an Ideal Vaccine a full course of Expanded Programme on Immunization • Single-dose regimen with prolonged duration of protection vaccines (initially targeting tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, • Simple to transport, store, and administer • pertussis, polio, and measles) increase from US $1.37 per child Safe with no adverse effects • Affordable and inexpensive in 2001 to more than US $38.80 per child in 2011. (4) These • High stability against extreme heat and cold figures do not factor in programmatic or wastage-related costs. Vol. 35 No. 7 JULY 2014 e33 Downloaded from http://pedsinreview.aappublications.org/ by guest on September 23, 2021 distances are required to reach remote populations. Alumi- TABLE 2. Role of Adjuvants in Vaccine num adjuvant–containing vaccines, on the other hand, Development (1) display an increased sensitivity to unintentional freezing, especially when vaccine is placed too close to the walls of ice- • Decrease the dose of vaccine • Decrease the number of doses lined refrigerators or frozen ice packs. The effects of tem- • Shorten onset and prolong duration of response perature damage are vast; suspected damaged vaccines are • Induce mucosal immunity often discarded at great cost to the immunization program, • Enhance immune response in very young and old recipients whereas unnoticed damage results in children receiving potentially ineffective vaccine. Substantial advances in bet- ter passive cooling equipment, such as reengineered cold been tolerated since traditional vaccines could be acquired boxes, are being used to move vaccines in areas that require in large quantities at a very low cost. With international extended travel periods from 6 to 10 days without the risk of vaccine prices reaching $5 to $7 per dose for vaccines against freezing. Both this and the prospect of battery-free solar rotavirus, human papillomavirus, and pneumococci, there refrigerators for use in isolated health centers and clinics are is clearly a new environment in maximizing efficiency. (9) expected to save considerable expenses. The Centers for (10) To minimize unnecessary wastage, new vaccines are Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offer a comprehen- packed in 1- and 2-dose vials bundled with syringes and sive toolkit on vaccine storage and handling that outline other delivery devices. This results in a marked increase of recommendations on cold chain maintenance and equip- price and amount of cold storage space required (Figure 1). ment, routine storage and handling, inventory