Use of pneumonia vaccines vs strains pushed

A MICROBIOLOGIST has urged the Philippine government to use a pneumococcal vaccine that is suitable against strains that are prevalent in the country.

This comes as the country experiences cooler weather which can lead to weather-related diseases such as pneumonia, a vaccine-preventable disease especially among children.

According to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, from 2012 to 2019, there have been 11 important strains of pneumonia which account for nearly 50 percent of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) cases found in the country.

Dr. Maria Margarita Lota, chairman of the Department of Microbiology at the University of the Philippines’ College of Public Health, said a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) that could be used in the National Immunization Program (NIP) should be suitable against these strains and are backed up with real-world experience.

“One of the things that we really have to look for when we are considering the inclusion of a particular PCV in the NIP is your serotypes. ‘Pag alam natin kung ano ‘yung mga nag-eexist na serotypes (If we know what are the existing serotypes) in the community, we have to directly target these serotypes, or if not directly, ensure that there are reports of [this PCV] doing crossprotection,” Lota added.

The Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC), the independent body that appraises health technologies for public use, has included PCV vaccines in the priority list of health technology topics to be assessed for possible inclusion in the Philippine National Formulary.

The World Health Organization has prequalified three PCV vaccines for use — PCV13 and two types of PCV10, PHID-CV and SIIL-PCV. Of these vaccines, PHID-CV and PCV-13 were assessed by HTAC in 2020 as suitable for use on the 11 strains in the country.

She said that if authorities are aware which pneumonia serotypes are circulating, some brands of vaccines may be used against them.