Promote R & D and Application of Combined Vaccines for Children in China

The number of vaccine doses required for children in China far exceeds the international level. Promoting the use of combination vaccines for children is an important measure to significantly reduce the number of doses and increase children’s immunization coverage, bringing multiple benefits such as 1) enhancing the timely vaccination of children and creating space in the current National Immunization Program schedule for the future introduction of new vaccines; 2) increasing vaccination compliance among young children; 3) reducing the risk of potential adverse events following vaccination; 4) lowering the time cost for caregivers; 5) reducing the occupational exposure risk for health workers; and 6) saving overall societal costs significantly. Many countries have already included pentavalent and hexavalent vaccines in their immunization plans. The combination vaccines authorized for use and in various stages of development in China exhibit a notable disparity compared to those of other countries internationally, including some leading nations. Factors restricting the application of combination vaccines for children include 1) regulatory constraints in R&D cooperation among vaccine manufacturers; 2) the manufacturers’ insufficient qualifications and capabilities for R&D; 3) conflicts with the current immunization schedule, which brings challenges to healthcare workers in managing the vaccination intervals; 4) low incentives for healthcare workers to recommend the combination vaccines; 5) high market prices of the combination vaccines and limited awareness and willingness to vaccinate among parents. It is recommended that the focus be on breaking key constraints to promote the development and application of combination vaccines for children, with the top priority being to improve regulatory measures and provide market profiles to encourage vaccine development in the private sector. This includes: refining regulatory measures for R&D collaboration among vaccine manufacturers, encouraging different types of R&D collaboration to increase the supply of combination vaccines, improving the provision of evidence, making strategic planning of the National Immunization Program to guide the combination vaccines’ schedule administration; improving the vaccine procurement and financing mechanism to enhance the affordability of the vaccines; strengthening education and incentives to raise the awareness of combination vaccines and improve the willingness of parents to vaccinate their children with the combination vaccines.