Pneumonia hospitalizations of children aged <2 years in Poland before (2013-2016) and after (2017-2018) universal mass vaccination with 10-valent pneumococcal non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine

As infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important cause of pneumonia in children, the World Health Organization recommends childhood pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs). In January 2017, PCV universal mass vaccination (UMV) was introduced in Poland for children aged <2 years. The objective of this study was to estimate and describe the trends in the incidences of various types of pneumonia hospitalizations in Poland before (2013–2016) and after (2017–2018) introduction of the UMV program. The study was conducted at the regional hospitals of Opole and Bialystok and included all hospitalized children aged <2 years with a primary or secondary diagnosis of pneumonia in their electro…