Fourteen years’ clinical experience and the first million babies protected with human live-attenuated vaccine against rotavirus disease in Italy
Rotavirus (RV) causes up to half of hospital and community acute gastroenteritis (AGE) cases in young children in Italy. Two RV vaccines, available since 2006, are human RV (HRV) and human bovine RV (HBRV). This report looks back at the implementation of RV vaccination with HRV in Italy, and at HRV current and future perspectives. Initial regional policies led to national implementation by 2018, after scientific societies’ disease awareness efforts. Following vaccination, RV hospitalizations declined significantly, and cost savings were observed. The two-dose HRV vaccine is easily administered during compulsory vaccine visits, helping increase coverage. Intussusception, a serious event in c…
Determinants of European parents' decision on the vaccination of their children against measles, mumps and rubella: A systematic review and meta-analysis
ABSTRACT Low measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) immunization levels in European children highlight the importance of identifying determinants of parental vaccine uptake to implement policies for increasing vaccine compliance. The aim of this paper is to identify the main factors associated with partial and full MMR vaccination uptake in European parents, and combine the different studies to obtain overall quantitative measures. This activity is included within the ESCULAPIO project, funded by the Italian Ministry of Health. ORs and CIs were extracted, sources of heterogeneity explored and publication bias assessed. Forty-five papers were retrieved for the qualitative study, 26 of which were i…
Prevalence of Pneumococcal Serotypes in Community-Acquired Pneumonia among Older Adults in Italy: A Multicenter Cohort Study
Pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a leading cause of mortality. Following the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) in children, a decrease in the burden of the disease was reported. In parallel, an increase in non-vaccine serotypes was also noted. The objective of this study was to assess the current serotype-specific epidemiology of pneumococci among Italian older adults hospitalized for CAP. A prospective study was conducted between 2017 and 2020 in four Italian regions. Subjects aged ≥65 years hospitalized with confirmed CAP were tested for pneumococci using both pneumococcal urinary antigen and serotype-specific urine antigen tests able to identify all…
Evaluation of humoral and cellular response to four vaccines against COVID-19 in different age groups: A longitudinal study
To date there has been limited head-to-head evaluation of immune responses to different types of COVID-19 vaccines. A real-world population-based longitudinal study was designed with the aim to define the magnitude and duration of immunity induced by each of four different COVID-19 vaccines available in Italy at the time of this study. Overall, 2497 individuals were enrolled at time of their first vaccination (T0). Vaccine-specific antibody responses induced over time by Comirnaty, Spikevax, Vaxzevria, Janssen Ad26.COV2.S and heterologous vaccination were compared up to six months after immunization. On a subset of Comirnaty vaccinees, serology data were correlated with the ability to neutr…
Strategies and actions of multi-purpose health communication on vaccine preventable infectious diseases in order to increase vaccination coverage in the population: The ESCULAPIO project.
The ESCULAPIO Project aims at increasing awareness on vaccine preventable infectious diseases (VPID) and vaccinations in different target populations and to spread the culture of prevention. Information/training interventions on VPID have been developed and health promotion activities for the general population, students and their parents, teachers and health care workers (HCWs) were set up. In Tuscany, educational courses on VPID in high schools were organized and students were stimulated to prepare informative materials on VPID for lower grade school pupils. In Liguria, an educational card game (named 'Vaccine at the Fair') was presented to children of primary schools. Stands in shopping …
Combined hexavalent diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis-hepatitis B-inactivated poliovirus-Hemophilus influenzae type b vaccine; Infanrix™ hexa: Twelve years of experience in Italy
Infant vaccination using 2-dose priming at 3 and 5 mo of age with a booster at 11–12 mo of age was pioneered in Italy. The 3-5-11 schedule is now used in a growing number of European countries. Infanrix™ hexa (DTPa-HBV-IPV/Hib, GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines) was first licensed for use in 2000 and has been the only pediatric hexavalent vaccine available since 2005. We reviewed available clinical trial data describing the immunogenicity of DTPa-HBV-IPV/Hib when administered at 3, 5, and 11 mo of age, and conducted an analysis of safety using global and Italian post-marketing surveillance data. In Italy, DTPa-HBV-IPV/Hib has a demonstrated safety record extending over a decade of use, it has been a…
Impact of universal vaccination against varicella in Italy: Experiences from eight Italian Regions.
In Italy, the introduction of Universal Varicella Vaccination (UVV) has been decided but postponed, as a national programme, until 2015, when data from Regions which have already implemented it will be available. Starting from 2003, eight Italian Regions (Basilicata, Calabria, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Apulia, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany and Veneto) have progressively introduced UVV, in their immunization programme, with different schedules in children aged 13-15 months and 5-6 years, currently a two-dose schedule is adopted by all Regions. In June 2013, an Interregional Group on Varicella Vaccination (IGVV) has been established in order to assess the effectiveness of varicella vaccination with …
Italian Health Care Workers’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Human Papillomavirus Infection and Prevention
Objective: To assess healthcare workers&rsquo
Immunization Campaigns and Strategies against Human Papillomavirus in Italy: The Results of a Survey to Regional and Local Health Units Representatives
Objective. The study aimed to assess the impact of HPV immunization campaigns organizational aspects, the characteristics of immunization program (vaccination targets and type of offer), and communicative strategies adopted by four Italian administrative regions on vaccination coverage observed. Methods. From November 2017 to March 2018, regional and Local Health Units (LHUs) representatives were invited to complete an online survey including 54 questions evaluating vaccination invite systems, access systems to vaccination centres, reminder and recall systems, and adverse events surveillance. An overall descriptive analysis was conducted. Since observed vaccine coverage (VC) obtained in fem…