The need for vaccination in adults with chronic (noncommunicable) diseases in India - lessons from around the world

Adult vaccination in India: A rapid review of current status & implementation challenges

Background & objectives The expanded programme on immunization launched in India in 1978, with its focus on preventing six diseases in children (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, poliomyelitis, typhoid, and childhood tuberculosis), was widened in its scope in 1985-86. This new avtaar, the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP), incorporated measles vaccine for children and rubella and adult diphtheria vaccines for pregnant women. We conducted this rapid review on adult immunization relevant for India, as recent COVID-19 experience revealed how newly emergent or re-emergent pathogens could have their onslaughts on the elderly and adults with comorbidities. Methods Three different bibliographic databases, namely PubMed, Scopus and Ovid were searched electronically to access the articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Relevant consensus guidelines by in-country professional groups were also collated. We conducted deduplication and screening of the outputs of these searches (1242 bibliographical records). Finally, 250 articles were found eligible for inclusion. As trials on the reduction of morbidities, mortalities and hospitalizations in adults due to proposed vaccines under Indian consensus guidelines were not available, no meta-analysis was conducted. Results Evidence from articles finally included in this synthesis were grouped under (i) preventing viral and bacterial infections in adults; (ii) adult vaccination and awareness tools; (iii) vaccine hesitancy/acceptance; and (iv) adult vaccination guidelines. In-country research revealed the need for introducing the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine in adolescence or early-adulthood to prevent ano-genital cancers in elderly and later life. Importantly HPV prevalence among cervical cancer patients varied between 88 to 98 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Delhi. The importance of conducting regular surveillance of pneumococcal diseases and influenza, as well as tweaking the vaccines accordingly, was revealed in other articles. A poor uptake of influenza vaccine (≤2%) in adults (≥45 yr) was documented. The uptake of hepatitis B vaccine in Health Care Workers (HCWs) in Delhi and Mumbai was of concern and ranged from 55 to 64 per cent. The vulnerability of HCWs to rubella was investigated in a paediatric ophthalmic hospital in Madurai: a tenth of the selected HCWs were rubella seronegative and mounted good protective immunity following RA 27/3 vaccine administration. An outbreak of measles in college students in Pune emphasized the phenomenon of waning immunity. Similarly, a study in the infectious disease hospital in Kolkata and in-patients in Delhi revealed a lack of protective immunity against diphtheria and tetanus in adults. The researchers estimated the economic benefits of providing a typhoid vaccine to a household to be US$ 23 in a middle-income neighbourhood and US$ 14 in slum settings. The authors highlighted the importance of preventive strategies, finding that the cost of severe typhoid fever was US$ 119.1 in 18 centres across India. Both qualitative and quantitative investigations explored vaccine hesitancy, which was studied more during the COVID-19 pandemic than earlier. Interpretation & conclusions Vaccination programmes in India would require (i) increasing awareness around vaccine-preventable diseases among adults and HCWs; (ii) actively engaging health care systems and community-based organizations; and (iii) developing and producing affordable, safe, and country-appropriate vaccines. Effective communication strategies and tools will be the key to the success of such interventions.

Flu Vaccination Among Patients with Noncommunicable Diseases: A Survey About Awareness, Usage, Gaps and Barriers in Europe

Purpose

People with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have a high risk of contracting flu and suffering from its associated complications; however, in many countries flu vaccine uptake in this group is sub-optimal. This survey assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and gaps toward vaccination in general and flu in particular among adults with NCDs in Europe.

Patients and Methods

The survey was conducted in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Belgium, Portugal, and the Czech Republic. A structured web-based questionnaire was administered to the subjects.

Results

In total, 1106 subjects were enrolled, with 61% aged between 41 and 60 years. The main reasons for getting vaccinated were disease prevention and healthcare practitioner recommendations. Protection against infection and the risks of not receiving a vaccination was the most common vaccine information received, followed by information about possible side effects, duration of protection, and need for a booster dose. In the unvaccinated group, there was a lack of belief in the need for a flu vaccine, with a lack of recommendation from treating practitioners, and the experience of mild severity of flu being the main barriers against the vaccine. The physician remained the most preferred and tapped resource for information followed by dedicated websites. Understanding of flu vaccine benefits was particularly widespread among vaccinated patients, yet >50% wanted to know more about them. There was less clarity of the benefits of flu vaccine among unvaccinated patients; however, approximately 50% of them wanted to know more about it. Between January 2021 and December 2022, about 30% and 36% of the vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, respectively, reported having suffered from flu.

Conclusion

Healthcare practitioners are the key influencers for people to get vaccinated. The dissemination of information about the importance of flu vaccines needs to be increased, and clear and explanatory messaging based on country-specific characteristics is important.

Influvac Tetra: clinical experience on safety, efficacy, and immunogenicity

INTRODUCTION

This paper summarizes the safety and immunogenicity data of Influvac Tetra across all age groups starting from 6 months of age, obtained during its clinical development program.

AREAS COVERED

The article covers the clinical development program of Influvac Tetra based on five registration studies that included different age groups, different comparators, and participants from Europe and Asia. Safety and immunogenicity were assessed in all studies and in one study, the efficacy of Influvac Tetra was assessed.

EXPERT OPINION

Seasonal influenza is a vaccine-preventable disease that can cause serious complications. Several types of influenza vaccines are available, including egg-based (standard dose, high dose, and adjuvanted), cell-based, and recombinant. The COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated innovation in the development such as mRNA vaccines. However, these vaccines are still in development and the true value still has to be proven. Regardless of the type of vaccine, it is also important to increase overall vaccination coverage. ECDC recommends that EU Member States implement action plans and policies aimed at reaching 75% coverage in at-risk groups and healthcare workers. Even so, vaccine coverage is still far from recommended.

Review of the unmet medical need for vaccination in adults with immunocompromising conditions: An Indian perspective

Immunocompromised (IC) populations are at increased risk of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). In India, the concern of VPDs in IC populations is particularly acute due to the prevalence of crowded living situations, poor sanitation and variable access to healthcare services. We present a narrative review of IC-related disease and economic burden, risk of VPDs and vaccination guidelines, based on global and India-specific literature (2000-2022). IC conditions considered were cancer, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, respiratory disorders, disorders treated with immunosuppressive therapy, and human immune deficiency virus (HIV). The burden of IC populations in India is comparable to the global population, except for cancer and HIV, which have lower prevalence compared with the global average. Regional and socioeconomic inequalities exist in IC prevalence; VPDs add to the burden of IC conditions, especially in lower income strata. Adult vaccination programs could improve health and reduce the economic impact of VPDs in IC populations.

Measuring the importance of influencing factor for COVID-19 vaccination intention in China

BACKGROUND

Vaccination is considered an effective approach to deter the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, vaccine hesitancy is a common issue that makes immunization programs more challenging. To promote vaccination in a targeted and efficient way, this study aims to develop and validate a measurement tool for evaluating the importance of influencing factors related to COVID-19 vaccination intention in China, and to examine the demographic differences.

METHODS

In study 1, we developed a Factor Importance Evaluation Questionnaire (FIEQ) based on semi-structured interview results and used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to explore its factor structure. In study 2, we verified the four-factor structure of FIEQ by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). We then administered FIEQ to Chinese participants and conducted a student t-test and analysis of variance to examine the differences in the importance evaluation of factors based on gender and educational level.

RESULTS

In study 1, we developed a four-factor construct and retained 20 items after EFA (N = 577), with acceptable reliability (alpha = 0.87) and validity. In study 2, we found that the model fit was good (χ2 = 748.03 (162), p < 0.001, GFI = 0.949, RMSEA = 0.049, SRMR = 0.048, AGFI = 0.934), and reliability was acceptable (alpha = 0.730) (N = 1,496). No gender difference was found in factor importance. However, individuals with different educational levels reported significantly different importance evaluations of three factors, including perceived benefits and social norms (F = 3.786, p = 0.005), perceived influences from reference groups (F = 17.449, p < 0.001), and perceived risks (F = 2.508, p = 0.04).

CONCLUSION

This study developed and validated FIEQ for measuring the importance of influencing factors related to the COVID-19 vaccination intention in Chinese participants. Moreover, our findings suggest that the educational level may play a role in how individuals evaluate the importance of factors. This study provides insights into the concerns that individuals have regarding vaccination and offers potentially effective and targeted strategies for promoting COVID-19 vaccination.

Disparities in Coverage of Adult Immunization among Older Adults in India

A lack of a universal adult immunization scheme in India poses a challenge to achieve universal health coverage. Healthcare disparity is one of the biggest challenges in low- and middle-income countries such as India. We aimed to estimate the disparities in coverage of various adult vaccines among older adults in India using nationally representative data. An observational analysis among 31,464 participants aged ≥60 years from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, 2017-2018, was conducted. Vaccination coverage across wealth quintiles and selected non-communicable diseases were reported as frequencies and weighted proportions along with their 95% confidence intervals as a measure of uncertainty. The highest coverage was of the diphtheria and tetanus vaccine (2.75%) followed by typhoid (1.84%), hepatitis B (1.82%), influenza (1.59%), and pneumococcal (0.74%). The most affluent groups had a higher coverage of all vaccines. Participants having high cholesterol, psychiatric conditions, and cancer had the highest coverage of all vaccines. Overall, a very low coverage of all vaccines was observed. The coverage was influenced by social determinants of health, depicting a disparity in accessing immunization. Hence, at-risk groups such as the deprived and multimorbid patients need to be covered under the ambit of free immunization to achieve universal health coverage.