14 Oct 2024 • A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that vaccines against 24 pathogens could reduce the number of antibiotics needed by 22% or 2.5 billion defined daily doses globally every year, supporting worldwide efforts to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Every year, vaccines against:

• Streptococcus pneumoniae could save 33 million antibiotic doses, if the Immunization Agenda 2030 target of 90% of the world’s children were vaccinated, as well as older adults;
• Typhoid could save 45 million antibiotic doses, if their introduction was accelerated in high-burden countries;
• Malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum could save up to 25 million antibiotic doses, which are often misused to try to treat malaria;
• TB could have the highest impact once they are developed, saving between 1.2 to 1.9 billion antibiotic doses – a significant portion of the 11.3 billion doses used annually against the diseases covered in this report.

Source: WHO | Read full story