On the road to eliminate rabies, Gavi announces plan to improve human vaccination
Rabies has been in global health’s crosshairs for years. Around the world, the viral infection kills about 70,000 people a year — and since as early as 2015, groups including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, have had plans to shore up vaccine efforts to reduce the number. At one point, Gavi planned to include human rabies vaccines in its 2021 investment strategy — but then the Covid-19 pandemic got in the way.
Now, it’s finally taking action. On Thursday, Gavi announced a plan to expand global access to human rabies vaccines, reaching over 50 countries. Most of Gavi’s efforts focus on vaccinating as many people as possible against common viral threats. But for rabies, it’s confronting a different kind of challenge: providing vaccines for post-exposure prophylaxis to the right people, at the right time.
