Since 2006, ROTATEQ has been registered and approved in more
than 100 countries, with more than 71 million doses distributed
worldwide. In 2012, Rwanda will become the first African country
to introduce ROTATEQ through a national immunization program,
and represents a new GAVI-eligible country to introduce the
vaccine. In 2006, Merck introduced ROTATEQ in Nicaragua through
a joint program with the Nicaraguan Health Ministry. This
initiative marked the first time there was access to a vaccine
in the public sector of a developing country in the same year
that it was first licensed in a developed country. This program
completed in 2009 and achieved an estimated 94 percent vaccine
coverage (percent receiving third dose of ROTATEQ) among
Nicaraguan infants. In March 2010, the immunization program was
transitioned to GAVI funding. The significant public health
impact of the introduction and widespread use of ROTATEQ in this
program was demonstrated through a case-control study of the
effectiveness of vaccination. O