Book Description

"WHO is developing a global vaccine safety blueprint to improve existing vaccine safety systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). In preparation for the blueprint, information on the perception of vaccine safety experts about the performance of vaccine safety systems in LMIC, as well as their expectations and recommendations, was sought. To outline local experience, available infrastructures, needs and priorities of vaccine safety monitoring expressed in LMIC, we performed a survey of vaccine safety stakeholders with different professional backgrounds in LMIC. Experts were randomly sampled by country economic status, WHO region and population size. Their relevant perspectives were elicited via questionnaire by four scientific areas of vaccine safety monitoring. Follow-up clarifications were implemented when appropriate. Of the 182 professionals who initially agreed to participate, 78 (43%) coming from 28 LMIC, returned the survey. Of these, 89% coming from 26 LMIC, expressed the need to improve the capacity and quality of vaccine safety monitoring in their countries. The main needs expressed were support for training (80% from 27 LMIC) and harmonized methods, including standardized case definitions (74% from 26 LMIC). Eighty-two percent of professionals coming from 24 countries report to have spontaneous reporting systems. Of these, 52% coming from 20 countries, indicate actual detection of reports. Fifty-six percent, coming from 19 countries, indicated the existence of at least basic health databases. However, only 15%, coming from six countries, reported conducting epidemiological studies using these resources. Forty-five percent, coming from 14 countries, wish to achieve the ability to link health-care databases. Forty-five percent, coming from 18 countries, indicate that they are partially relying on vaccine safety information from other countries. Thirty percent, coming from 15 countries, requested improved international collaboration and, as high as 93%, coming from 26 LMIC, expressed the need for support from an international consortium. Ensuring the safety of vaccines is considered important by public-health experts from LMIC. There is a need to improve the quality of existing vaccine safety data, to enhance local analytic capacity, to establish health-care databases and to enhance information sharing within and across countries. This could best be accomplished through a concerted effort to provide training and harmonized tools, and an international support structure, so that countries can perform vaccine safety functions effectively."--Page 1.