The prospects of the world getting a tuberculosis vaccine by 2028 and the jab being rolled out by 2030 are dimming, as money meant to fund trials in the next phase is not forthcoming.

To move the TB vaccine candidate (M72/AS01E) from the investigational stage in 2028 to the rollout phase in 2030 requires $1 billion (Sh129 billion) per year for the next three years, said Stop TB Partnership Secretariat executive director Dr Lucica Ditiu.

Ditiu spoke in Nairobi, where she has been holding meetings on TB advocacy and drug procurement. There is a pipeline of TB vaccines and six of them are in the final phase-three trials, she said. One has shown positive results to proceed beyond the investigation stage.

“What’s important is that with the exception of M72 that the Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust are funding, we are hopeful but for the rest we don’t know if these vaccines will see the light,” she said.

TB control advocates are preparing the ground for a rollout, but they are also cautious.

“There are trials going on, but you need several of them to come and complement each other, and we are not sure that this will be achieved, because we don’t see the funding as at now for this TB vaccine development,” Ditiu said.

The news that the world is on the verge of getting a new tuberculosis vaccine gave hope to Kenyans battling the deadly airborne disease. Government data shows that 133,000 cases of TB were reported in 2021, and an estimated 32,000 people died from TB.