Association between village coverage of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage among children aged 0–59 months with pneumonia in Papua New Guinea

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) prevents pneumococcal disease and pneumonia, but indirect effects are poorly understood in low-coverage, high-burden settings like Papua New Guinea (PNG). PNG introduced 13-valent PCV (PCV13) in 2014. We aimed to assess direct and indirect effectiveness of PCV13 against vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage among children with pneumonia or suspected meningitis in PNG

Citation:
Ford RL, Neal EFG, Sapura J, …….. Pomat WS, Blyth CC, Russell FM. Association between village coverage of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage among children aged 0–59 months with pneumonia in Papua New Guinea: an observational study. Vaccine X. 2026;30.

Keywords:
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine; PCV13; Vaccine-type carriage; Indirect effects; Coverage; Papua New Guinea

Abstract:
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) prevents pneumococcal disease and pneumonia, but indirect effects are poorly understood in low-coverage, high-burden settings like Papua New Guinea (PNG). PNG introduced 13-valent PCV (PCV13) in 2014. We aimed to assess direct and indirect effectiveness of PCV13 against vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage among children with pneumonia or suspected meningitis in PNG.