PNEUMOCOCCAL DISEASE

Other useful links and further reading:

Lancet article leading to decision to move from 2+1 to 1+1 schedule

JCVI minutes of interest

Vaccinating Welders against pneumococcal - systematic review & meta analysis and further interesting analysis here

Pneumococcal vaccination: guidance for health professionals

Pneumococcal disease: guidance, data and analysis

Pneumococcal vaccination programme: Documents relating to the pneumococcal vaccination programme for infants.

Managing clusters of pneumococcal disease in closed settings: Guidelines for managing serious pneumococcal disease in hospitals, care homes, prisons, children’s day-care centres and military settings.

Recent Updates & News

31st March 2025: The annual reports from the national PPV immunisation programme are also here. The main findings were that coverage in those aged 65 and over was 73.1%, an increase of 1.3 percentage points compared with the 2022/23 financial year. Coverage increased with age from 34.8% in those aged 65 to 85.3% in those aged 75 and over. Coverage in those aged 2 to 64 in one or more clinical risk group was 46.5%. Coverage in clinical risk groups ranged from 34.3% (chronic liver disease) to 84.2% (cochlear implants). See the report for more details.

5th March 2025: This is an interesting read BUT PLEASE NOTE IT IS AMERICAN and nothing has changed in the UK at the time of writing. New Pneumococcal Vaccine Recommendations: What You Should Know. I wonder if the UK will follow a similar process. Interesting the bits about blanket programmes having higher vaccine coverage than risk-based ones. It seems similar with our Shingles programme with the age-based programme doing better than the risk-based one.

29th Jan 2025: UKHSA PCV Risk Groups PGD amended to include:

• minor rewording, layout and formatting changes for clarity and consistency with other UKHSA PGD templates

• details of a newly approved PCV15-valent vaccine (Vaxneuvance)

• recommendation for PCV15 in addition to PCV13, in line with Chapter 25 updates in the Green Book

• updated considerations for individuals anticipated to receive a cochlear implant

• clarification of exclusion criteria for at-risk individuals aged 2 years and above

• clarification of the immunisation offer to at-risk individuals aged 10 years and over

• interval between PPV23 and PCV doses for at-risk patients clarified as 8 weeks, not 2 months, in line with Table 25.3 of the Green Book

• update of adverse reactions in common to both PCV vaccines

31st July 2024 PGD template updated amended to:

• confirm that PPV administration for occupational exposure should be under a Patient Specific Direction (PSD)

• include an updated list of known adverse reactions

• remove details of specific supply information for PPV (the supply route is now well embedded)

• reflect clinical exceptions to the recommended 8 week interval between PCV and PPV vaccination in special considerations and additional information section

14 AUG 2023 Green Book chapter updated to include new conjugate vaccines, IPD incidence data, new section on recommendations for the routine use of pneumococcal vaccines. Updated information for individuals with cochlear implants.

Bits and bobs to casually drop into conversation

Did you know....

• Not just a 'pneumonia' vaccine!!! Pneumococcal disease encompasses a wide range of infections caused by different types of pneumococcus bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae). There are over 90 different types of them, and vaccines have been produced to protect against the types that cause the most disease

• The most common way to die of flu complications is pneumonia

• In the UK, around 40,000 people a year get hospitalised with pneumococcal pneumonia OF ALL AGES. Even with antibiotics, pneumonia still causes death in up to 20% of cases.

• Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children worldwide. According to data from the WHO, pneumonia killed over 920,000 children in 2015, and accounts for 16% of all deaths of children under 5 years old.