Effectiveness of vaccination with the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine in Nicaragua as determined using the screening method.

The screening method is a surveillance tool to evaluate vaccine effectiveness (VE) using coverage data on cases and available administrative estimates of vaccine coverage in the population. The aim of this analysis was to evaluate the utility and limitations of using the screening methodology to estimate VE, particularly in a developing world country with a high coverage rate, and to compare it with the VE estimates from 2 case-control studies. Using data from 2008, the screening method employed in this study estimated that VE for 3 doses of RV5 among children<12 mo of age to prevent wild-type severe disease, resulting in hospitalization or emergency department visits, was 92% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 78-100%).