A new study published in The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia found that increasing vaccinations for Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) in India may have a significant impact on reducing antibiotic use and improving health outcomes among the poorest individuals. Researchers used a dynamic agent-based microsimulation model for India (IndiaSim) to simulate the spread of S. pneumoniae and Hib among children to estimate reductions in antibiotic use under the scenarios of: (i) pneumococcal and Hib vaccine coverage levels equivalent to the national coverage of pentavalent diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus third dose (DPT3) compared to a baseline of no vaccination, and (ii) near-universal (90%) coverage of the vaccines compared to pre-COVID national DPT3-level coverage. Reductions in antibiotic consumption were quantified nationally and by state and wealth quintiles.
The findings estimate that coverage of S. pneumoniae and Hib vaccines at the same level as DPT3 in India would translate to a 61.4% reduction in attributable antibiotic use compared to a baseline of zero vaccination coverage. Increases in childhood vaccination coverage between 2004 and 2016 have likely reduced attributable antibiotic demand by as much as 93.4% among the poorest quintile. Increasing vaccination coverage by an additional 11 percentage points from 2016 levels results in mortality and antibiotic use across wealth quintiles becoming increasingly similar, reducing in health inequities.
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