The Indian government is considering the introduction of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) which is likely to be launched in a phased manner by 2017-18 in the routine immunization program. PCV will be used for the treatment of pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections and meningitis. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that Streptococcus pneumonia kills close to half a million children under 5 years of age worldwide every year, with most of these deaths occurring in developing countries.
India has the highest number of pneumonia and diarrhea deaths among children globally, according to a report published in The Lancet. According to the paper, many of the estimated 6.3 million children aged younger than five years who died in 2013 died of preventable infectious diseases, 15% of these deaths were caused by pneumonia which is strongly correlated by an availability of effective…
