Safety of Rotavirus Vaccination in Preterm Infants Admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Sicily, Italy: A Multicenter Observational Study

Rotavirus (RV) is among the most common vaccine-preventable diseases in children under five years of age. Despite the severity of rotavirus pathology in early childhood, rotavirus vaccination for children admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), who are often born preterm and with various previous illnesses, is not performed. This multicenter, 3-year project aims to evaluate the safety of RV vaccine administration within the six main neonatal intensive care units of the Sicilian Region to preterm infants. Methods: Monovalent live attenuated anti-RV vaccination (RV1) was administered from April 2018 to December 2019 to preterm infants with gestational age ≥ 28 weeks. Vaccine a…