Government urged to reduce key child vaccine by three doses to two

TThe government is urged to change the timing of dosing one of the key vaccines for children, thus allowing the NHS to save millions of pounds.

In July of this year, a key advisory group, the Joint Committee on Immunization and Immunization (JCVI), recommended reducing the timeline for the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) from three to two. However, the Ministry of Health, which normally implements JCVI's policy quickly, still has not indicated whether or when it would effect the change.

Philippa Whitford, Scottish National Party Member for Central Ayrshire and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Immunization, submitted a written parliamentary question to Health Secretary Matt Hanbad asking when and if the government would make the change.

"This would save one-third of the cost and one-third of the badistance, which would make it easier for people to take a course," she said.

The UK does not disclose how much it pays for the PCV, manufactured by the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, because of its commercial sensitivity. But it's one of the most expensive childhood vaccines and in the United States it costs $ 130 (about £ 100) for every stroke. If the UK drops a dose, it could potentially save millions of pounds every year.