Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2024 Dec 31;20(1):2389577.
doi: 10.1080/21645515.2024.2389577. Epub 2024 Aug 20.

Pertussis vaccine effectiveness following country-wide implementation of a hexavalent acellular pertussis immunization schedule in infants and children in Panama

Arlene E Calvo  1   2 , Andrea G Tristán Urrutia  3 , Juan C Vargas-Zambrano  4 , Humberto López Castillo  5   6
Affiliations
Observational Study

Pertussis vaccine effectiveness following country-wide implementation of a hexavalent acellular pertussis immunization schedule in infants and children in Panama

Arlene E Calvo et al. Hum Vaccin Immunother. .

Abstract

Despite high pediatric vaccination coverage rates (VCRs), pertussis incidence has increased worldwide, including in several countries in Latin America in the last two decades. Given the few vaccine effectiveness (VE) studies in Latin American countries, this retrospective, observational, cohort study estimated the effectiveness of hexavalent acellular (aP) primary and booster vaccination (wP) against pertussis in infants (6.5-18.5 months) and children (18.5-48.5 and 48.5-72.5 months) in Panama. Age-specific incidence rates (IRs) were calculated for the vaccine's pre-initiation (2001-2013), initiation (2014), and post-initiation (2015-2019) periods. VCRs and trends were determined, and VE was analyzed using a case coverage or screening method to compare proportions of vaccinated cases and vaccinated individuals in the population. Between 2001-2019, 868 confirmed pertussis cases were reported in Panama; 712 (82.0%; 54.8 cases/year) during the pre-initiation period, 19 (2.2%; 19 cases/year) during the initiation period, and 137 (15.8%; 27.4 cases/year) during the post-initiation period. Panama underwent cyclical increases in IRs, which varied between age groups. VCRs increased for primary and booster doses. Between 2015 and 2019, third-dose yearly vaccine coverage increased, on average, 3.3%. Specifically, during the post-initiation period, 109/137 (79.6%) of cases were unvaccinated. Relative VE was estimated at 96.2% [95% CI: 86.5%, 98.9%] with three doses; 100% with 4 and 5 booster doses. Absolute VE was estimated at 99.3% with three doses only. These results show that vaccination played an important role in maintaining a low number of pertussis cases in Panama, affirming the need for sustained investment and commitment to vaccination programs.

Keywords: Panama; Pertussis; hexavalent vaccine; universal vaccine coverage; vaccine efficacy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

JCVZ is a Sanofi employee and may hold shares and/or stock options in the company.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Yearly pertussis vaccination coverage rates. Panama, 2001–2019.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Trend analysis of DTP3 coverage pre- and post-initiation periods. Panama, 2001–2019.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization . Health topics pertussis.
    1. Moore A, Harnden A, Grant CC, Patel S, Irwin RS.. Clinically diagnosing pertussis-associated cough in adults and children: CHEST guideline and expert panel report. Chest. 2019;155(1):147–9. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2018.09.027. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Pertussis | La tos ferina | Causas y transmisión. Centro Nacional de Vacunación y Enfermedades Respiratorias, División de Enfermedades Bacterianas. 2017.
    1. Forsyth KD, Tan T, von König CHW, Heininger U, Chitkara AJ, Plotkin S.. Recommendations to control pertussis prioritized relative to economies: a global pertussis initiative update. Vaccine. 2018;36(48):7270–7275. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.10.028. - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization . Pertussis vaccines: WHO position paper - August 2015. Weekly epidemiological record. 2015: 1–28.

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources