Bronchiolitis in COVID-19 times: a nearly absent disease?

Stay-at-home orders, physical distancing, face masks and other non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) do not only impact COVID-19, but also the dynamics of various other infectious diseases. Bronchiolitis is a clinically diagnosed viral infection of the lower respiratory tract, and causes a yearly seasonal wave of admissions in paediatric wards worldwide. We counted 92,5% less bronchiolitis hospitalisations in Antwerp before the expected end of the peak this year (of which only 1 RSV positive), as compared to the last 3 years.

A Phase III Randomized, Double-blind, Clinical Trial of an Investigational Hexavalent Vaccine Given at Two, Three, Four and Twelve Months.

Background: Combination vaccines simplify vaccination visits and improve coverage and timeliness. Diphtheria-tetanus toxoids-acellular pertussis 5, hepatitis B, inactivated poliovirus vaccine and Haemophilus influenzae type b (DTaP5-HB-IPV-Hib) is a new investigational, fully liquid, combination vaccine containing a 5-antigen pertussis component and is designed to protect against 6 infectious diseases.

Methods: In this multicenter, double-blind, comparator-controlled, phase III study (NCT01341639) conducted in Finland, Germany and Belgium, healthy infants were randomized 1:1 to receive 1 of 2 immunization regimens.