Relevance: Mains: G.S paper III: Science
Why in news?
- Pneumococcal vaccine developed by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India has been pre-qualified by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Key facts
- The pneumococcal vaccine PNEUMOSIL is a conjugate vaccine to help produce stronger immune response to a weak antigen.
- In 2017, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was included in the under India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP). It has been introduced in a phased manner starting with Himachal Pradesh, parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
- To be “pre-qualified” means that the vaccine can be sold internationally to several countries in Africa and South America.
- According to a November 2019 UNICEF report, pneumonia caused 1,27,000 deaths in India in 2018, the second highest number of child mortality under the age of five in the world. In India, pneumonia and diarrhoea cause the most deaths in children under five years.