AU$35 million granted to Australian vaccine research with potential to save half a million lives per year

February 24, 2019

AU$35 million funding announced by the then Minister for Indigenous Health, Hon Ken Wyatt AM, MP will be used to boost research efforts by the Telethon Kids Institute and other collaborators around the world, bringing the reality of an effective Strep A vaccine into the foreseeable future.

Dr Asha Bowen, Mr Glenn Pearson, the Hon Ken Wyatt AM, MP, Tenaya Bell, Ms Vicki O’Donnell, Ms Pat Turner, Professor Jonathan Carapetis, Professor Andrew Steer

Globally, diseases associated with Strep A infection are responsible for more than half a million deaths annually. In Australia, these infections disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. Infectious disease specialist and Telethon Kids Institute Director, Professor Jonathan Carapetis said that this announcement will be seen as a tipping point for eliminating Strep A diseases not only in Australia but also around the world.

Ms Pat Turner AM, CEO of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization (NACCHO) and Co-Chair of END RHD, also welcomed the investment from the Federal Government. Ms Turner highlighted the need for a comprehensive approach to ending RHD and truly closing the gap in health outcomes for Indigenous Australians. The ASAVI Strep A vaccine candidate aims to be one of these approaches.

Read the full article here: https://www.telethonkids.org.au/news–events/news-and-events-nav/2019/february/35-million-to-develop-vaccine/

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