Why children are not vaccinated

Why is it that when Coca-Cola introduces a new product, it can be found almost immediately the world over, but the latest life-saving vaccines can be difficult to obtain? The simple answer is that consumers can afford to pay for vanilla-flavored Coke while vaccines can be prohibitively expensive. "Time" magazine selected Microsoft found Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, as their People of the Year -- along with the rock singer Bono -- in large part for the work their foundation has done in trying to create a level playing field for children around the world with regard to immunization.

Acute respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, are the leading cause of childhood death in Central Asia.The vaccine Prevnar, introduced in 2000, has proven effective in preventing the pneumococcus bacteria that causes many of these illnesses. But at $150 to $180 for the three doses required, it is too expensive to use to treat many children outside of the United States and Western Europe.

Ruth Levine of the Washington-based Center for Global Development explains that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has tried to address the problem of the growing lag time between when vaccines are introduced in wealthy countries and when they finally reach poorer countries."[The Gates Foundation] really did rejuvenate the interest in childhood vaccination and highlighted the fact that there was this big gap and that the international organizations should figure out how to do something about that because immunization is so effective," she said. "[Immunization] can address some of the leading causes of childhood death. It really is one of the few things that we actually know that if we can get it to the kids, it will save their lives."