Washington Post Editorial on Global Immunization

The Washington Post has published an editorial on global immunization and its implications for rotavirus vaccines. The editorial argues that despite the historical delays in vaccine introduction, the recent efforts of the global polio eradication campaign and the creation of GAVI have made the successful introduction of a rotavirus vaccine possible by strengthening vaccine delivery infrastructure and providing critical immunization financing:

Enough is going right in this field to dream of a real turning point. The more vaccines are put to use, the stronger the delivery infrastructure becomes and the stronger the incentive for firms to invent more vaccines - which in turn will further energize the delivery system, leading to still wider deployment of vaccines and even greater financial incentives to inventors. To enable that virtuous cycle, rich countries must continue their support for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, and poor countries must make the most of the opportunities created by the alliance's money. It is not an iron law of nature that life expectancy has to be 32 years more in rich countries than in sub-Saharan Africa.