Introduction and Implementation of New Vaccines: Field Guide

Abstract

New, safe, and effective vaccines are licensed and introduced to the international market every year. Moreover, advances in biotechnology contribute to the improvement of current vaccines through new formulations of the vaccines in use. Although they are available, these vaccines have not yet become part of the official immunization schedule in many countries. Political authorities must often make decisions about public health interventions without the technical facts that would guarantee that their decisions are the most appropriate, in terms of cost-benefit, therefore ensuring the interventions’ sustainability. Before a new vaccine is added to an immunization program, its feasibility and sustainability should be evaluated based on previously established technical criteria in order to determine whether it is actually a public health investment priority. This field guide has been adapted from the WHO report Vaccine Introduction Guidelines: Adding a Vaccine to a National Immunization Programme: Decision and Implementation.