On Dec. 19, 2019, the WHO announced that PNEUMOSIL, a vaccine against a leading cause of deadly childhood pneumonia – the pneumococcus bacterium – had achieved prequalification ststus.

Developed though a collaboration spanning over a decade between Serum Institute of India, and PATH and with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the vaccine was expected to provide protection for children on par with other pneumococcal conjugate vaccines at a price that is more affordable for low- and middle-income countries.