🦠 Vaccines: A Key Weapon Against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
A recent WHO report underscores the powerful role of vaccines in the fight against AMR, estimating that better use of vaccines could reduce the global need for antibiotics by 2.5 billion defined daily doses annually—a 22% decrease. This could be a game-changer in reducing the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, a key driver of AMR.
🧬 Key Insights
🔍 The Power of Prevention: Vaccines against 24 pathogens, including Streptococcus pneumoniae, typhoid, and malaria, could significantly cut down antibiotic use. For example, accelerating typhoid vaccine introduction in high-burden countries could save 45 million doses of antibiotics each year. Meanwhile, a future TB vaccine holds the potential to save between 1.2 and 1.9 billion doses annually.
💡 Impact on Public Health: Vaccination not only prevents infections but also reduces the need for hospitalisation due to secondary infections, helping to control the spread of resistant pathogens. For instance, achieving 90% vaccination coverage of the world’s children for pneumococcal vaccines could save 33 million doses of antibiotics per year.
💰 Economic Benefits: The report highlights the substantial financial burden of treating resistant infections, estimated at US$ 730 billion globally per year. Vaccines could save up to a third of these costs, easing the strain on healthcare systems worldwide.
🌍 At the recent UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR, global leaders reinforced the importance of vaccine access and committed to reducing AMR-associated deaths by 10% by 2030. The declaration emphasised the critical role of vaccination in a comprehensive approach to tackle this growing global threat.
Sources:
WHO. (2024). Better use of vaccines could reduce antibiotic use by 2.5 billion doses annually.
Available at: https://kont.ly/e2c5c203
United Nations. (2024). Press Conference: The Global Leaders Group on AMR and the significance of the High-Level Meeting on AMR. Available at: https://kont.ly/35e04974
