4-component protein-based vaccine highly effective against serogroup B invasive meningococcal disease: JAMA

In the ongoing efforts to combat serogroup B invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), a recent study revealed promising results regarding the effectiveness of the 4-component recombinant protein–based (4CMenB) vaccine in pediatric populations. The results were published in Journal of  American Medical Association.

The study, spanning from January 1, 2006, to January 1, 2020, gathered data from children below the age of six who were diagnosed with serogroup B IMD without any predisposing factors. Data was meticulously collected from regional surveillance and vaccination registries, culminating in a robust dataset that was analyzed between September 2021 and January 2022.

The primary focus was to determine the vaccine's effectiveness in preventing serogroup B IMD among these Italian children. The study utilized both a screening method and a case-control study to compute the vaccine effectiveness (VE) percentages. The results were striking: VE for fully immunized children ranged from 91.7% to an impressive 94.9%, indicating the vaccine's potency in safeguarding against this disease.

An interesting facet of the study was the examination of the two distinct computational methods to derive VE results. Both the screening method and case-control approach yielded similar outcomes, underlining the reliability of either method in diverse study settings.

Moreover, the research delved into the reduction in incidence rate ratios (IRRs) as a proxy for gauging vaccine impact. The data demonstrated an overall IRR reduction of 50%, with regions adhering to early-start vaccination schedules witnessing up to a 70% reduction in IRR.

The study provided valuable insights into the vaccine's impact on different age groups. Among children old enough for the first vaccine dose, the estimated VE hovered around 92.4%, rising to an impressive 95.6% in fully immunized children. Even partially immunized children exhibited a VE exceeding 90%, underscoring the vaccine's potential to offer protection even in incomplete immunization scenarios. This finding raises intriguing possibilities for extending vaccination to even earlier ages, potentially curbing an even greater number of cases.

Source:

Lodi, L., Barbati, F., Amicizia, D., Baldo, V., Barbui, A. M., Bondi, A., Costantino, C., Da Dalt, L., Ferrara, L., Fortunato, F., Moriondo, M., Nieddu, F., Peroni, D. G., … Prato, R. (2023). Four-Component Recombinant Protein–Based Vaccine Effectiveness Against Serogroup B Meningococcal Disease in Italy. In JAMA Network Open (Vol. 6, Issue 8, p. e2329678). American Medical Association (AMA). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.29678