CNN: A new way to protect babies from pneumonia
Keith Klugman, director of the pneumonia team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

“…Data available to date shows that when a pregnant woman receives a vaccine she can naturally produce antibodies that she then passes on to the baby. Therefore, immunizing expectant mothers is a potentially groundbreaking approach that could dramatically reduce the number of child deaths. … We are thrilled that a promising vaccine to tackle the leading cause of viral pneumonia (respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV), appears closer to reality than ever. … [T]he Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a grant of up to $89 million to Novavax, Inc. to develop this vaccine against RSV in high- and low-income countries. The funding will go toward a larger trial to better understand how effective this vaccine is for pregnant women and their newborns. … A new vaccine to tackle viral pneumonia would be a major scientific achievement and, more importantly, would have the potential to save thousands of lives…” (10/23).