Objective: To assess the impact of the immunization program with 13-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV13) in adults, from October 2013 in Liguria, Italy, both in terms of effectiveness, and tolerability and safety.
Methods: First study: descriptive epidemiology of the clinical burden of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) and the role of risk factors or co-morbidity in adults >18 years of age. Second study: crossover evaluation of the effect of PCV13 introduction in adults aged ≥70 years, in terms of ED accesses for LRTI, obtained by a Syndrome Surveillance System (SSS) operating in Liguria from 2007.
Background: In September 2011 the European Medical Agency authorized the use of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in adults aged ≥50 years. The same occurred in the US in December 2011 when the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of PCV13 in the same target age-group with indication for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal diseases and community acquired pneumonia sustained by the serotypes contained in the vaccine. The Liguria Region, in Italy, implemented in 2013 an active and free of charge immunization strategy with PCV13 among adults affected by specific risk conditions and the elderly aged ≥70 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLiguria, an administrative region in northern Italy characterized by a decade of high PCV coverage in paediatric age group, has issued new PCV13 recommendations for free active immunization in adults with risk factors and subjects aged ≥ 70 years old. Main aims of this study are: (1) a descriptive epidemiology of the clinical burden of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) in adults ≥18 years of age; and (2) a crossover evaluation of the effect of introduction of PCV13 vaccination in adults aged ≥70 years old, in terms of ED accesses for LRTI, obtained by a Syndrome Surveillance System (SSS). The ED access, chief complaint based SSS will allow an active surveillance of a population cohort of >430 000 individuals resident in Genoa metropolitan area, aged ≥18 years old, for a period of 60 months.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: An observational multicenter study was carried out in Italy, to evaluate the acceptability and safety of the new intradermal (ID) influenza vaccine (Intanza Sanofi Pasteur SA, Lyon, France) among subjects aged≥60 years, compared with that of other intramuscular (IM) influenza vaccines. Compliance with the use of the ID vaccine by healthcare professionals was also assessed.
Methods: A previously validated and self-administered questionnaire, Vaccinees' Perception of Injection (VAPI®), consisting of 21 questions, mainly focused on four dimensions (bother, arm movements, sleep, and acceptability), was administered to >1,600 individuals with spontaneous access to outpatient clinics, located in Northern, Central, and Southern Italy, to evaluate the acceptance of the vaccines.
Liguria was the first Italian Administrative Region, since 2003, to actively recommend free-of-charge immunisation, of all infants, with heptavalent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV-7), within a research pilot-project. Vaccination coverage among infants rapidly increased from 42.8% in 2003 to 83.
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