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PCV13 Pediatric Routine Schedule Completion and Adherence Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United
Liping Huang1, Jennifer L Nguyen2, Tamuno Alfred3
1Patient and Health Impact, Pfizer Inc, 235 East 42nd Street, New York City, NY, 10017, USA. Liping.Huang@pfizer.com.
Insights
Routine childhood immunization with the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) completion rates decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adherence to both primary and booster doses of PCV13 was lower in infants during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic periods.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Immunology
- Public Health
Background:
- The 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) is crucial for protecting infants against Streptococcus pneumoniae.
- The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted healthcare services, including routine childhood immunizations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare PCV13 vaccination completion and adherence rates among US infants before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- To examine the relationship between primary and booster dose completion and adherence.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of de-identified healthcare data from January 2017 to December 2020.
- Three infant cohorts were created: pre-COVID, cross-COVID, and during COVID.
- Study endpoints included completion and adherence to primary and booster PCV13 doses.
Main Results:
- PCV13 completion and adherence for the primary series were significantly lower during the COVID-19 pandemic (C3) compared to pre-pandemic periods (C1 and C2).
- Booster dose completion (80.2% vs 83.2%) and adherence (47.4% vs 51.2%) were also significantly lower during the pandemic.
- Completing the primary PCV13 series was strongly associated with booster dose completion both before and during the pandemic.
Conclusions:
- Overall PCV13 completion was lower during the COVID-19 pandemic (77.1%) compared to pre-pandemic times (79.0%).
- The findings highlight a negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine childhood vaccination schedules.
Introduction:
A 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) was licensed to protect against emerging Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes. Healthcare services, including routine childhood immunizations, were disrupted as a result of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study compared PCV13 routine vaccination completion and adherence among US infants before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and the relationship between primary and booster dose completion and adherence.
Methods:
Retrospective data from Optum's de-identified Clinformatics® Data Mart were used to create three cohorts using data collected between January 2017 and December 2020: cohort 1 (C1), pre-COVID; cohort 2 (C2), cross-COVID; and cohort 3 (C3), during COVID. Study endpoints were completion and adherence to the primary PCV13 series (analyzed using univariate logistic regression) and completion of and adherence to the booster dose (analyzed descriptively).
Results:
The analysis included 142,853 infants in C1, 27,211 infants in C2, and 53,306 infants in C3. Among infants with at least 8 months of follow-up from birth, three-primary-dose completion (receipt of all three doses within 8 months after birth) and adherence (receipt of doses at recommended times) were significantly higher before (C1 and C2) versus during (C3) COVID-19 (odds ratio [OR] 1.12 [95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07, 1.16] and OR 1.10 [95% CI 1.05, 1.15], respectively). A significantly higher percentage of infants received a booster dose before versus during COVID-19 (83.2% vs. 80.2%; OR 1.23; 95% CI 1.17, 1.29); similarly, booster dose adherence was higher before than during COVID-19 (51.2% vs. 47.4%; OR 1.17; 95% CI 1.13, 1.21). The odds of booster dose completion were 8.26 (95% CI 7.92, 8.60) and 7.90 (95% CI 7.14, 8.74) times as likely in infants who completed all three primary doses than in infants who did not complete primary doses before COVID-19 and during COVID-19, respectively.
Conclusions:
PCV13 full completion was lower during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with pre-pandemic (79.0% vs. 77.1%).
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