Financial Support to Eligible Countries for the Switch From Trivalent to Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine-Lessons Learned.

The global switch from trivalent oral polio vaccine (tOPV) to bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) ("the switch") presented an unprecedented challenge to countries. In order to mitigate the risks associated with country-level delays in implementing the switch, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative provided catalytic financial support to specific countries for operational costs unique to the switch. Between November 2015 and February 2016, a total of approximately US$19.4 million in financial support was provided to 67 countries. On average, country budgets allocated 20% to human resources, 23% to trainings and meetings, 8% to communications and advocacy, 9% to logistics, 15% to monitoring, and 5% to waste management. All 67 funded countries successfully switched from tOPV to bOPV during April-May 2016. This funding provided target countries with the necessary catalytic support to facilitate the execution of the switch on an accelerated timeline, and the mechanism offers a model for similar support to future global health efforts, such as the eventual global withdrawal of bOPV.

Economic benefits of keeping vaccines at ambient temperature during mass vaccination: the case of meningitis A vaccine in Chad.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the potential economic benefits of keeping a meningitis A vaccine at or near ambient temperature for up to 4 days during a mass vaccination campaign. METHODS: During a 10-day mass vaccination campaign against meningitis A in three regions of Chad in 2011, the costs associated with storage and transport of the vaccine in a traditional cold chain system were evaluated. A mathematical model was used to estimate the savings that could have been achieved if the vaccine had been stored at or near ambient temperature--in a "controlled temperature" chain--at the peripheral levels of the supply chain system. FINDINGS: The cost of the cold chain and associated logistics used in the campaign in Chad was 0.24 United States dollars (US$) per person vaccinated. In the modelled scenario for a controlled temperature chain, however, these costs dropped by 50% and were estimated to be only US$ 0.12 per person vaccinated. CONCLUSION: The implementation of a "controlled temperature" chain at the most peripheral levels of the supply chain system--assuming no associated loss of vaccine potency, efficacy or safety--could result in major economic benefits and allow vaccine coverage to be extended in low-resource settings.