Anti-pneumonia vaccine PCV13 ‘more superior’ than PCV10 —expert

The 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) is “clearly superior” to the PCV10, a pediatric infectious diseases expert said on Tuesday amid the government’s deliberations on which of the two vaccines should be administered to Filipino children.

Professor Ron Dagan, board chairman of the International Symposia on Pneumococcus and Pneumococcal Diseases, said the PCV13 is superior because it covers more pneumococcal serotypes or strains, including the invasive and virulent 19A serotype.

Dagan said the 19A serotype, which only the PCV13 vaccine can combat, may lead to diseases such as meningitis, invasive diseases, and severe pneumonia.

“Therefore, 19A is a real threat… because that has caused a lot of severe diseases including mortality and [it’s] very difficult to fight with,” he said. “The 19A will not respond well to PCV10 and will increase with PCV10. Once you give PCV13, it will decrease.”

Industry stakeholders earlier expressed concerns over the Department of Health’s (DOH) alleged preference for the PCV13 over the PCV10.

In a February 2019 position paper, the World Health Organization said the PCV13 and PCV10 have comparable immunogenicity because they were both found “to be safe and effective and to have both direct and indirect effects against pneumococcal disease.”

“They were actually restricting themselves to only specific data from specific studies and specific dates,” Dagan countered. “They don’t have all the data that we do have now. It could not give a complete picture at that time.”

Spending more

Dagan also warned that countries that switched to a less effective vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae to cut costs ended up spending more, as they saw a rise in diseases caused by more lethal strains of this bacterium.

“It’s the question of whether the country is ready to pay more for better coverage or not,” Ron Dagan, a professor of pediatrics and infectious diseases at the Ben-Gurion University, told reporters recently.

Dagan cited Belgium as an example of the adverse effects of switching from PCV13 to PCV 10, saying the European nation saw an increase in invasive diseases linked to 19A from just 4 percent to 37 percent after the switch.

“They definitely considered their attempt to switch to PCV 10 a failure,” he added.

The expert said that while PCV 13 costs more, it is able to fight against the more lethal strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae, including serotypes 19A, 6A and 6C.

PCV13 has been included in the DOH vaccination program for infants since 2014.

However, the procurement of P4.9 billion worth of PCV stocks for 2020 was postponed after concerns were raised that the bidding process was not competitive.

As of December 2019, the procurement of PCV stocks is in the health technology assessment stage, according to the DOH.

Health officials said the bidding process will resume upon the completion of the review.

Pneumonia claims over 50,000 lives in the Philippines every year, making it the third most deadly disease in the country.

Earlier in the day, Philippine Foundation for Vaccination (PFV) executive director Dr. Lulu Bravo urged the government should also look into the issue of pneumococcal diseases.

The PFV director said the DOH should look into the cost-effectiveness between the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) 10 and the PCV13 amid the ongoing review of the vaccines. — MDM, GMA News