The Particulars: The United States government’s Healthy People 2020 initiative set a goal of reducing antimicrobial-resistant invasive pneumococcal disease from 9.3 to 6.0 cases per 100,000 children by 2020. The effect of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in achieving this goal is not well known.
Data Breakdown: A large data analysis found that PCV13, first available in 2010, reduced the incidence of antibiotic-resistant invasive pneumococcal disease by 62% from 2009 to 2013 among children younger than 5 years of age. The study team found that the Healthy People 2020 goal of 6.0 cases per 100,000 children was met 9 years early due to the effectiveness of PCV13. The rate in 2013 was 3.5 cases per 100,000 children.
Take Home Pearl: PCV13 appears to have helped dramatically reduce the annual rate of antimicrobial-resistant invasive pneumococcal disease.
