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Pneumonia kills people, young and old. The world has been reminded of the toll of pneumonia as countries struggle to control the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 has claimed more than 1 million lives so far in 2020 but other infectious diseases have caused pneumonia-related mortality for decades. Although there has been a commendable 54% decline in pneumonia-related deaths among children younger than 5 years since 2000, pneumonia is still the leading infectious cause of child deaths and claims more than 800 000 children’s lives every year (WHO Maternal and Child Epidemiology Estimation, unpublished).