Clinical Presentations and Outcomes of Children in Canada With Recurrent Invasive Pneumococcal Disease From the IMPACT Surveillance Network.

Background: Invasive pneumococcal disease due to Streptococcus pneumoniae can cause mortality and severe morbidity due to sepsis, meningitis and pneumonia, particularly in young children and the elderly. Recurrent invasive pneumococcal disease is rare yet serious sequelae of invasive pneumococcal disease that is associated with the immunocompromised and leads to a high mortality rate.

Method: This retrospective study reviewed recurrent invasive pneumococcal disease cases from the Canadian Immunization Monitoring Program, ACTive (IMPACT) between 1991 and 2019, an active network for surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases and adverse events following immunization for children ages 0-16 years.

Randomized Trial of 2 Schedules of Meningococcal B Vaccine in Adolescents and Young Adults, Canada.

Emergency vaccination programs often are needed to control outbreaks of meningococcal disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) on college campuses. Such campaigns expend multiple campus and public health resources. We conducted a randomized, controlled, multicenter, observer-blinded trial comparing immunogenicity and tolerability of an accelerated vaccine schedule of 0 and 21 days to a longer interval of 0 and 60 days for 4-component MenB vaccine (MenB-4C) in students 17-25 years of age.

Immunogenicity of 2 and 3 Doses of the Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine up to 120 Months Postvaccination: Follow-up of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: Several countries have implemented a 2-dose (2D) human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination schedule for adolescents based on immunobridging studies. We compared immunogenicity of 2D vs 3-dose (3D) schedules of the quadrivalent vaccine (4vHPV) up to 10 years after the first dose.

Methods: Girls aged 9-13 years were randomized to receive 2D or 3D and were compared with women aged 16-26 receiving 3D at day 1 and months 7, 24, and 120 after the first dose.

Will Infant Hepatitis B Immunization Protect Adults?

Globally, infant hepatitis B virus (HBV) immunization programs are markedly reducing the rate of chronic HBV infections among children <5 years of age. Desirable improvements include increased birth dose coverage and better prevention of perinatal HBV transmission. Follow-up studies show that by the teenage years most of those immunized as infants have lost circulating anti-HBs antibody and some fail to respond to challenge HBV vaccination, implying loss of protection from infection.

Fever prophylaxis can reduce vaccine responses: A caution.

Prophylactic administration of antipyretic/analgesic drugs, started at the time of immunization and repeated 6 and 12 hours later, is sometimes undertaken to reduce postimmunization fever and irritability in infants. Two recent studies showed that such prophylaxis can reduce immune responses to some infant vaccines, warranting judicious use. In contrast, implementing treatment 6 hours or more after immunization had no effect on vaccine responses and would reduce drug exposure of asymptomatic infants.