Effectiveness of meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccine 4 years after introduction.
The meningococcal serogroup C conjugate (MCC) vaccine programme in England has successfully controlled the incidence of serogroup C disease, as a result of high short-term vaccine effectiveness and substantial herd immunity. However, the long-term effectiveness of the vaccine remains unknown. We assessed surveillance data from the 4 years since introduction of the programme. Vaccine effectiveness remained high in children vaccinated in the catch-up campaign (aged 5 months to 18 years). However, for children vaccinated in the routine infant immunisation programme, the effectiveness of the MCC vaccine fell to low levels after only 1 year. The number of individuals in these cohorts remains low, but alternative routine immunisation schedules should be considered to ensure high levels of protection are sustained.
Statistics, Economics, and Modelling Department, Health Protection Agency Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
Caroline L
CL
Trotter
Nick J
NJ
Andrews
Edward B
EB
Kaczmarski
Elizabeth
E
Miller
Mary E
ME
Ramsay
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D032521:Immunity, Herd; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D007223:Infant; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines / Q000276:immunology; D038542:Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup C / Q000276:immunology*; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate
D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate