Vaccines are one of the important tools for preventing infectious diseases, and their financing, procurement, supply, and delivery are related to the effectiveness of the prevention and control of infectious diseases in China and the lives and health of the people. On November 21, with the support of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Duke Kunshan University Innovation Lab for Vaccine Delivery Research (hereinafter referred to as “Innovation Lab”) hosted the “Vaccine Procurement & Financing Workshop”, inviting experts and scholars in the field of vaccine financing procurement from home and abroad to share their international experience and research progress on vaccine financing procurement.
Professor Shenglan Tang, Co-Director of the Global Health Research Center at Duke Kunshan University and director of the Innovation Lab for Vaccine Delivery Research, opened the meeting by saying that this is the first workshop organized by the Innovation Lab in the field of vaccine procurement and financing since its establishment. In the past few months, the Innovation Lab, together with various partners, has conducted several studies, written policy papers based on national immunization programs, HPV vaccines and other areas, and advocated and disseminated through different media channels. This workshop was organized to further enhance the exchange of international practices and domestic research advances in the field of vaccine financing and procurement.
Keynote speakers at the workshop included Putri Herliana (Vaccines Regional Manager for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, CHAI Clinton Health Initiative; Anithasree Athiyaman (Senior Associate for New Vaccine Introductions and Service delivery for Southeast Asia and the Pacific region, CHAI), Professor Ying Xiaohua (Director, Health Economics Teaching and Research Department, Fudan University), Weixi Jiang (Youth Research Associate in the Department of Health Economics, Fudan University), and Zhang Can (Assistant Professor, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University).
Dr. Zhang Jiahui, Director of the First Research Office of the Social Development Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council, Dr. Yu Wenzhou, Director of the Immunization Service Office of the Center for Immunization Planning of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Professor Weibing Wang, Director of the Epidemiology Department of the School of Public Health of Fudan University, had a lively discussion with the keynote speakers. As well as experts and scholars from Shenzhen Health Development Research and Data Management Center, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Sichuan University and other institutions and universities actively participated in the conference.
Two speakers from the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) presented a summary of practices and lessons learned from the introduction of pneumococcal vaccine (PCV) in Indonesia. Since 2016, CHAI has supported the government’s decision to introduce PCV vaccine and its implementation in Indonesia, driving the government’s political commitment to improve vaccine coverage, and Indonesia has planned a full nationwide rollout of PCV vaccine this year. Professor Ying Xiaohua (Director, Health Economics Teaching and Research Department, Fudan University) was invited to present the experience of pooled procurement of drugs in China, analyzing the model, characteristics, price determinants and its effectiveness of drug pooling, as well as explore the value of the drug pooling model in vaccine procurement. Dr. Weixi Jiang (Youth Research Associate in the Department of Health Economics, Fudan University), introduced the procurement and financing model of non-immunization program vaccines in China in recent years. Some provinces and cities have implemented and financially supported partial vaccination programs for non-immunization program vaccines or opened personal accounts for urban workers’ medical insurance to pay for non-immunization program vaccines, but a national-level policy has not yet been developed. Exploring policy breakthroughs in procurement and financing models for second-category vaccines is critical to improving coverage of second-category vaccinations. Professor Can Zhang (Assistant Professor, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University) introduced the participants, process, supplier selection, and pricing of vaccine bidding and procurement at the level of national and international organizations, and summarized the relevant experiences.
In the discussion session, the participating researchers and guests had a lively discussion on the experience of PCV introduction, cooperation of government and international organizations, presentation of cost-benefit evidence, and procurement inclusion mechanism of countries in introducing new vaccines.
Dr. Zhang Jiahui, Director of the First Research Office of the Social Development Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council, spoke highly of the content shared at the conference, saying that the financing and collection of second-tier vaccines requires more consideration of whether the prerequisites are in place – one is whether there is a public and strong unified procurement body for procurement and financing, and the other is whether a linkage between quantity and price can be achieved.
Dr. Anna (Heng) Du, Senior Program Officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, summarized the workshop, saying that the workshop provided a good platform for exchange of practical experiences on vaccine financing and procurement at home and abroad, and also provided directions and thoughts for the next exploration. For the introduction of the new vaccine in China, it may start from the pilot in individual provinces and may refer to the progress of HPV paid vaccine promotion in China.