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Healthcare providers' preferences for pediatric pneumococcal vaccination recommendations in the United States
Jeffrey Vietri1, Kelley Myers2, Liping Huang1
1Pfizer Inc., Collegeville, PA, USA.
Insights
Healthcare providers prefer the 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV20) for children due to its broader serotype coverage. Most favor transitioning to or adding PCV20 in pediatric vaccination schedules.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Vaccinology
- Public Health
Background:
- A 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV20) is now available for pediatric use in the US.
- Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines are crucial for preventing invasive pneumococcal disease in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate healthcare providers' (HCPs) preferences regarding the use of PCV20 in children.
- To gauge HCP opinions on potential modifications to pediatric pneumococcal vaccination guidelines.
Main Methods:
- An online survey was administered to 623 HCPs (pediatricians, family physicians, PAs, NPs).
- Participants had recently prescribed, recommended, or administered pneumococcal vaccines to children.
- Direct-elicitation questions assessed preferences for PCV20 use in pediatric populations.
Main Results:
- A significant majority of HCPs (76%) favored transitioning children from PCV13/15 to PCV20.
- Most HCPs (≥60%) supported a supplemental PCV20 dose for fully vaccinated young children.
- PCV20 was preferred over PCV15 by 93% of HCPs for children up to 18 years.
Conclusions:
- HCPs demonstrated a clear preference for PCV20 in clinical practice and recommendations.
- The preference for PCV20 is driven by its expanded coverage of pneumococcal serotypes.
Background:
A 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV20) was recently licensed for use in children by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The objective of this study was to assess healthcare providers' (HCPs') preferences for the use of PCV20 in the pediatric population and opinions about possible changes to pediatric pneumococcal vaccination recommendations.
Research Design And Methods:
Pediatricians (N = 268), family medicine physicians/general practitioners (N = 184), physician assistants (N = 77), and nurse practitioners (N = 74) who prescribed, recommended, or administered a pneumococcal vaccine to a child aged ≤18 years in the past 3 months completed an online survey. A series of direct-elicitation questions was used to assess preferences for the potential use of PCV20 in the pediatric population.
Results:
HCPs preferred options that provided protection against more serotypes: 76% of HCPs in this study favored transitioning children who started vaccination with PCV13/15 to PCV20, and most (≥60%) favored a supplemental dose of PCV20 for all children aged <5 years fully vaccinated with PCV13/15. 93% of HCPs preferred PCV20 over PCV15 for children aged ≤18 years.
Conclusions:
HCPs' choices indicated a preference for the use of PCV20 in both a clinical setting and in pediatric pneumococcal vaccination recommendations, due to the higher number of serotypes covered by PCV20.
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