Fewer adverse events reported following NIP pneumococcal vaccine change

The change from 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV) to 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (13vPCV) on the National Immunisation Program (NIP) in 2020 led to a reduction in reported adverse events following pneumococcal vaccination in adults, new research published in Vaccine has shown.

Researchers from the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) analysed AusVaxSafety data collected from more than 70,000 adults who received a pneumococcal vaccine between November 2016 and March 2022 and found adults who received a 13vPCV vaccine reported an adverse event around half as often as those who received a 23vPPV vaccine.

While the proportion of individuals seeking medical attention in the days after vaccination was low for both vaccine types – 0.3% for 13vPCV and 0.9% for 23vPPV – recipients of 13vPCV vaccine were also 61% less likely to seek medical attention than those who received 23vPPV vaccine.

Interestingly, the study also shows people who received 13vPCV vaccine at the same time as another vaccine (or vaccines) were less likely to report any adverse events than those who received 23vPPV alone.

As noted in NCIRS’ pneumococcal vaccines FAQs resource, pneumococcal vaccines vary in the number of serotypes they cover, and the number in the name of each vaccine type represents the number of different serotypes it contains – for example, 13vPCV contains 13 serotypes. 

These new findings confirm the short-term safety profile of 13vPCV vaccine is more tolerable than 23vPPV vaccine in adults in Australia – and create a strong foundation for the monitoring of new, higher-valency conjugate vaccines that may be added to the NIP in future.

Read the research article