A six-in-one vaccine that fights diseases at once will soon be added to the routine immunisation schedule for developing countries such as Kenya.
The Hexavalent (six-in-one) vaccine was approved by the board of Gavi, an international organisation that supplies vaccines to lower-income countries.
Should the government approve the new programme, the jab will be given to children to protect against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), hepatitis B and haemophilus influenzae type B, and poliomyelitis.
The polio vaccine part of the main dose will have a unique component called the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) that was adopted by all 75 Gavi countries by 2019.
According to a Unicef update, a complete Hexavalent Vaccine is considered an ideal immunisation option.
“It has less pressure on the health system, less vaccination sessions, assumptions of achieving higher coverage for IPV and finally prevention of premature withdrawal of IPV from countries immunisation programs,” Unicef notes.
In 2021, the US acquired its first hexavalent vaccine dubbed VAXELIS that has been approved as a three-dose series in children six weeks through to four years of age.
