Pneumococcal Vaccine Too Expensive for South African Children

Cost is preventing a one-of-a-kind vaccine from reaching an estimated 260 children born with HIV daily in South Africa, according to a report by the U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN). Wyeth Pharmaceuticals' Prevnar is the only available vaccine against pneumococcal diseases.

Prevnar could dramatically reduce the number of deaths from pneumonia and meningitis — both common opportunistic infections among HIV-infected children — but at nearly $262 per patient it is well beyond the budgets of the country's public healthcare programs, IRIN reports.

South African children are routinely vaccinated against seven diseases, including diphtheria, tetanus, polio and hepatitis B, for approximately $14 per shot under the government's national immunization program, Johann Van den Heever, the program's manager, told IRIN. Prevnar would be a welcome addition if it were more affordable, he said.

Last week Wyeth officials said the company is interested in making the vaccine more widely available in South Africa and other developing countries by having it added to national immunization programs.

The government would need to negotiate with the company, as well as to look to donors and organizations for financial assistance, according to IRIN.