Antibody responses to routine pediatric vaccines administered with 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

Kristina A Bryant1, Alejandra Gurtman, Douglas Girgenti

  • 1University of Louisville University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA. k0brya01@louisville.edu

Insights

The 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) does not interfere with infant immune responses to routine pediatric vaccines. Studies show PCV13 elicits noninferior immune responses compared to the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7).

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Vaccinology
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • The 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) is widely used to prevent pneumococcal disease.
  • Concerns exist regarding potential interference of PCV13 with immune responses to other routine childhood vaccines.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess whether PCV13 impacts immune responses when administered concurrently with standard pediatric vaccines.
  • To compare the immunogenicity of PCV13 versus the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) when given alongside other routine immunizations.

Main Methods:

  • Two randomized studies involved infants receiving either PCV13 or PCV7 at 2, 4, and 6 months, along with diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis, inactivated polio, hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccines.
  • Antibody levels to vaccine antigens were measured one month after the infant series and again after a toddler dose (12-15 months), which included measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, and hepatitis A vaccines.
  • Key metrics included the percentage of responders and immunoglobulin G antibody geometric mean concentrations/titers for each vaccine antigen.

Main Results:

  • Noninferiority criteria were met for all tested antigens regarding the percentage of responders in both PCV13 and PCV7 groups.
  • Immunoglobulin G antibody geometric mean concentration/titer ratios (PCV13/PCV7) ranged from 0.91-1.33 after the infant series and 0.83-1.03 after the toddler dose, meeting noninferiority standards.

Conclusions:

  • Concomitant administration of PCV13 with routine pediatric vaccines results in immune responses that are noninferior to those elicited by PCV7.
  • PCV13 can be safely co-administered with other essential childhood vaccines without compromising immunogenicity.
Abstract