World cholera vaccine supply set to double after new supplier approved
Baku, January 11, AZERTAC
The world's supply of oral cholera vaccine is set to double in 2016 after the World Health Organization approved a new supplier, according to UN Radio.
The demand for the vaccines in places such as Sudan and Haiti, has so-far outstripped supply, leading to major shortages.
But WHO said that a new South Korean manufacturer had been approved for procurement agencies such as the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF.
WHO's cholera specialist, Doctor Stephen Martin, welcomed the news and said that despite the problems of supply, there had been a huge increase in production in the past few years.
"This will increase the potential availability of vaccine from 3 million doses to 6 million doses, so this is a potential doubling of the availability of vaccine for this year. It has future potential in the next 3-4 years from a much greater increase in vaccine production and this is certainly a step in the right direction."
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