Earlier this year the Department of Health (DH) informed us that, following a review by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) of the evidence on the impact of the pneumococcal vaccination programme and on the clinical effectiveness of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV), the protection the vaccine provides was poor and not long-lasting in older people. The JCVI advised that there was little benefit to continuing the programme and that it should be stopped.
The DH sought views on the JCVI advice from various stakeholders, and the GPC responded accepting the JCVI evidence, but asked whether the DH had considered reviewing the vaccine rather than withdrawing it, and whether further guidance to help GPs make a judgement whether to provide the vaccine to over 65s with risk factors could be produced.
Following a number of comments from various stakeholder and new independent analyses of UK epidemiological data on invasive pneumococcal disease, the JCVI concluded that, whilst there remains some uncertainty about the effectiveness of PPV, there is now better evidence of the vaccine suggesting that PPV provides some moderate short term protection to those aged 65 years and older, although protection may be less and wane faster in older age groups and for some clinical risk groups. The new analysis also showed that the programme remains cost effective, despite the limited effectiveness of the vaccine, and may be more cost effective than implementing a risk group-based programme.
CMO letter to profession about pneumococcal vaccination over the over-65s July 2011
For these reasons, the JCVI has advised that the existing routine programme for those aged 65 years and older should continue, although be kept under review. |
