Rotavirus vaccine series completion and adherence to vaccination schedules among infants in managed care in the United States.
BACKGROUND
Two rotavirus vaccines are currently approved in the United States: 3-dose RotaTeq (RV5; Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA) is administered at ages 2, 4, and 6 months; and 2-dose Rotarix (RV1; GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA) is administered at ages 2 and 4 months. Our objective was to compare rotavirus vaccine series completion and dosing schedule compliance between cohorts of infants who received these vaccines.


METHODS
Infants aged less than 1 year who initiated a rotavirus vaccine series between 01 January 2009 and 30 June 2009 were identified in US health insurance claims data. Cohorts were formed based on vaccine brand use. Series completion and compliance with the FDA-approved and ACIP-recommended harmonized schedules were analyzed descriptively and a log binomial model was used to estimate the difference in series completion by vaccine brand while adjusting for demographic variables.


RESULTS
Among infants in the RV1 and RV5 cohorts (N=55,584), 84.3% completed a full series. A greater proportion of the RV1 cohort than the RV5 cohort completed their series (91.0% vs. 83.4%; P<0.001; multivariate-adjusted relative risk 1.07; 95% CI 1.06-1.08). In the RV1 and RV5 cohorts, respectively, 75.0% and 59.5% of infants were fully compliant with the FDA-approved administration schedule for their vaccine (P<0.001); 83.3% and 76.4% of infants were fully compliant with the harmonized schedule (P<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The proportion of infants that completed the series was greater and compliance with respective FDA-approved and harmonized dosing schedules was higher among infants vaccinated with RV1 than among infants who received RV5.
US Health Outcomes, Vaccines, GlaxoSmithKline, Philadelphia, PA, USA. girishanthy.x.krishnarajah@gsk.com
Girishanthy
G
Krishnarajah
Elizabeth J
EJ
Davis
Ying
Y
Fan
Baudouin A
BA
Standaert
Ami R
AR
Buikema
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022243:Rotavirus Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014481:United States; D014611:Vaccination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014613:Vaccines, Attenuated / Q000008:administration & dosage
C492457:RIX4414 vaccine; C492535:RotaTeq; D022243:Rotavirus Vaccines; D014613:Vaccines, Attenuated