Pakistan to Launch New WHO-approved Typhoid Vaccine

Pakistan has become the first country in the world to launch new WHO approved typhoid vaccine. Pakistan suffered from the outbreak of a drug-resistant strain of the potentially fatal disease. The WHO approved vaccine will be used during immunization campaign in southern Sindh province, where around Pakistan’s 10,000 cases of typhoid have been reported since 2017. The campaign beginning from 16 November 2019 would target over 10 million children of nine months to 15 years of age. The new vaccines have been provided by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to the Pakistan government free of cost. According to the data released by the Pakistan government, WHO and Gavi, in 2017, 63 percent of the typhoid cases reported and 70 percent of the fatalities were children.