What will it take? Perspectives from five low- and middle-income countries on opportunities and challenges of introducing new maternal vaccines.

Background: New vaccines for pregnant women have recently been introduced in some high-income countries to protect infants in early life. Implementing maternal immunisation (MI) successfully in low- and middle-income countries will require planning and adaptations to immunisation and maternal health programs. To inform cost of MI delivery studies, we gathered perspectives from key stakeholders in five countries (Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, and Nepal) regarding health system requirements, opportunities, and challenges to introducing new maternal vaccines into routine health programs.

Gathering information on maternal immunization readiness in Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, and Nepal: Applying a WHO checklist.

New respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) maternal vaccines have begun roll out in some countries, with efforts in progress to broaden access worldwide and shorten the timeline to access for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Prior to new maternal immunization (MI) introductions, countries will need to evaluate their capacity and readiness for successful introduction. The World Health Organization's Maternal Immunization and Antenatal Care Situation Analysis (MIACSA) project (2016-2019) developed a checklist for countries to self-evaluate their capacity to introduce new maternal vaccines.

Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Japanese Encephalitis Vaccination for Children <15 Years of Age, Bangladesh.

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is preventable using the affordable, effective, and safe live attenuated SA 14-14-2 JE vaccine (CD-JEV). We used a Markov model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of 1 dose of CD-JEV compared with no vaccination in 3 vaccination strategies in Bangladesh: subnational campaign and routine immunization, subnational campaign and national routine immunization, and national routine immunization alone. For input parameters, we gathered information from a cost-of-illness study, medical literature, government documents, and expert opinions.

Cost of Acute and Sequelae Care for Japanese Encephalitis Patients, Bangladesh, 2011-2021.

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is associated with an immense social and economic burden. Published cost-of-illness data come primarily from decades-old studies. To determine the cost of care for patients with acute JE and initial and long-term sequelae from the societal perspective, we recruited patients with laboratory-confirmed JE from the past 10 years of JE surveillance in Bangladesh and categorized them as acute care, initial sequalae, and long-term sequelae patients.