title: The value of childhood combination vaccines: From beliefs to evidence.
abstract: Although vaccination is one of the most cost-effective health care interventions, under-vaccination and variation in coverage rates lower than policy targets is rising in developed countries, partly due to concerns about vaccination value and benefits. By merging various antigens into a single product, combination vaccines represent a valuable tool to mitigate the burden associated with the numerous injections needed to protect against vaccine preventable infectious diseases and increase coverage rate, possibly through various behavioral mechanisms which have yet to be fully explored. Beyond their cost-effectiveness in protecting against more diseases with fewer injections, combination vaccines also have several other benefits, for children, their parents/carers, as well as for the health system and the population as a whole. The objectives of this review are to identify and illustrate the value of combination vaccines for childhood immunization. Evidence was classified into 2 groups: benefits for society and benefits for public health and healthcare systems. This article also highlights the value of innovation and challenges of combination vaccine development as well as the need for an increased number of suppliers to mitigate the impact of any potential vaccine shortage. Increasing public confidence in vaccines and combination vaccines is also critical to fully exploit their benefits.
authors.affiliation: a Creativ-Ceutical ; London , UK.
authors.forename: Khaled
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maman
authors.forename: York
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zöllner
authors.forename: Donato
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Greco
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Duru
authors.forename: Semukaya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sendyona
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Remy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D014611:Vaccination / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D017778:Vaccines, Combined / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D017778:Vaccines, Combined
keywords: benefits; childhood immunizations; combination vaccines; economics; public health