Interim Effectiveness Estimates of 2024 Southern Hemisphere Influenza Vaccines in Preventing Influenza-Associated Hospitalization - REVELAC-i Network, Five South American Countries, March-July 2024.

To reduce influenza-associated morbidity and mortality, countries in South America recommend annual influenza vaccination for persons at high risk for severe influenza illness, including young children, persons with preexisting health conditions, and older adults. Interim estimates of influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) from Southern Hemisphere countries can provide early information about the protective effects of vaccination and help guide Northern Hemisphere countries in advance of their season. Using data from a multicountry network, investigators estimated interim VE against influenza-associated severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) hospitalization using a test-negative case-control design. During March 13-July 19, 2024, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay identified 11,751 influenza-associated SARI cases; on average, 21.3% of patients were vaccinated against influenza, and the adjusted VE against hospitalization was 34.5%. The adjusted VE against the predominating subtype A(H3N2) was 36.5% and against A(H1N1)pdm09 was 37.1%. These interim VE estimates suggest that although the proportion of hospitalized patients who were vaccinated was modest, vaccination with the Southern Hemisphere influenza vaccine significantly lowered the risk for hospitalization. Northern Hemisphere countries should, therefore, anticipate the need for robust influenza vaccination campaigns and early antiviral treatment to achieve optimal protection against influenza-associated complications.

Effectiveness of rAd26-rAd5, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, and BBIBP-CorV vaccines for risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 and death due to COVID-19 in people older than 60 years in Argentina: a test-negative, case-control, and retrospective longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: In January, 2021, a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 was initiated with the rAd26-rAd5, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, and BBIBP-CorV vaccines in Argentina. The objective of this study was to estimate vaccine effectiveness at reducing risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 deaths in people older than 60 years. METHODS: In this test-negative, case-control, and retrospective longitudinal study done in Argentina, we evaluated the effectiveness of three vaccines (rAd26-rAd5, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, and BBIBP-CorV) on SARS-CoV-2 infection and risk of death in people with RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19, using data from the National Surveillance System (SNVS 2.0). All individuals aged 60 years or older reported to SNVS 2.0 as being suspected to have COVID-19 who had disease status confirmed with RT-PCR were included in the study. Unvaccinated individuals could participate in any of the analyses. People with suspected COVID-19 who developed symptoms before the start of the implementation of the vaccination programme for their age group or district were excluded from the study. The odds ratio of SARS-CoV-2 infection was evaluated by logistic regression and the risk of death in individuals with RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 was evaluated by proportional hazard regression models, adjusted for possible confounders: age at the time of the symptom onset date, sex, district of residence, epidemiological week corresponding to the symptom onset date, and history of COVID-19. The estimation of vaccine effectiveness to prevent death due to COVID-19 was done indirectly by combining infection and death estimates. In addition, we evaluated the effect of the first dose of viral vector vaccines across time. FINDINGS: From Jan 31, to Sept 14, 2021, 1 282 928 individuals were included, of whom 687 167 (53·6%) were in the rAd26-rAd5 analysis, 358 431 (27·6%) in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 analysis, and 237 330 (18·5%) in the BBIBP-CorV analysis. Vaccine effectiveness after two doses was high for all three vaccines, adjusted odds ratio 0·36 (95% CI 0·35-0·37) for rAd26-rAd5, 0·32 (0·31-0·33) for ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, and 0·56 (0·55-0·58) for BBIBP-CorV. After two doses, the effect on deaths was higher than that on risk of infection: adjusted hazard ratio 0·19 (95% CI 0·18-0·21) for rAd26-rAd5, 0·20 (0·18-0·22) for ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, and 0·27 (0·25-0·29) for BBIBP-CorV. The indirectly estimated effectiveness on deaths was 93·1% (95% CI 92·6-93·5) for rAd26-rAd5, 93·7% (93·2-94·3) for ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, and 85·0% (84·0-86·0) for BBIBP-CorV following two doses. First dose effect of viral vector vaccines remained stable over time. INTERPRETATION: The vaccines used in Argentina showed effectiveness in reducing infection and death by SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. FUNDING: None.

Confronting the challenge: a regional perspective by the Latin American pediatric infectious diseases society (SLIPE) expert group on respiratory syncytial virus-tackling the burden of disease and implementing preventive solutions.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of acute lower respiratory infections in children around the world. The post-pandemic era has resulted in a notable increase in reported cases of RSV infections, co-circulation of other respiratory viruses, shifts in epidemiology, altered respiratory season timing, and increased healthcare demand. Low- and middle-income countries are responsible for the highest burden of RSV disease, contributing significantly to health expenses during respiratory seasons and RSV-associated mortality in children. Until recently, supportive measures were the only intervention to treat or prevent RSV-infection, since preventive strategies like palivizumab are limited for high-risk populations. Advances in new available strategies, such as long-acting monoclonal antibodies during the neonatal period and vaccination of pregnant women, are now a reality. As the Regional Expert Group of the Latin American Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (SLIPE), we sought to evaluate the burden of RSV infection in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region, analyze current strategies to prevent RSV infection in children, and provide recommendations for implementing new strategies for preventing RSV infection in children in LAC region.

Severity of influenza illness by seasonal influenza vaccination status among hospitalised patients in four South American countries, 2013-19: a surveillance-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Although several studies have reported attenuated influenza illness following influenza vaccination, results have been inconsistent and have focused predominantly on adults in the USA. This study aimed to evaluate the severity of influenza illness by vaccination status in a broad range of influenza vaccine target groups across multiple South American countries. METHODS: We analysed data from four South American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay) participating in REVELAC-i, a multicentre, test-negative design, vaccine effectiveness network including 41 sentinel hospitals. Individuals hospitalised at one of these centres with severe acute respiratory infection were tested for influenza by real-time RT-PCR, and were included in the analysis if they had complete information about their vaccination status and outcomes of their hospital stay. We used multivariable logistic regression weighted by inverse probability of vaccination and adjusted for antiviral use, duration of illness before admission, and calendar week, to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of intensive care unit (ICU) admission and in-hospital death (and combinations of these outcomes) among influenza-positive patients by vaccination status for three target groups: young children (aged 6-24 months), adults (aged 18-64 years) with pre-existing health conditions, and older adults (aged ≥65 years). Survival curves were used to compare length of hospital stay by vaccination status in each target group. FINDINGS: 2747 patients hospitalised with PCR-confirmed influenza virus infection between Jan 1, 2013, and Dec 8, 2019, were included in the study: 649 children (70 [10·8%] fully vaccinated, 193 [29·7%] partially vaccinated) of whom 87 (13·4%) were admitted to ICU and 12 (1·8%) died in hospital; 520 adults with pre-existing medical conditions (118 [22·7%] vaccinated), of whom 139 (26·7%) were admitted to ICU and 55 (10·6%) died in hospital; and 1578 older adults (609 [38·6%] vaccinated), of whom 271 (17·2%) were admitted to ICU and 220 (13·9%) died in hospital. We observed earlier discharge among partially vaccinated children (adjusted hazard ratio 1·14 [95% CI 1·01-1·29]), fully vaccinated children (1·24 [1·04-1·47]), and vaccinated adults with pre-existing medical conditions (1·78 [1·18-2·69]) compared with their unvaccinated counterparts, but not among vaccinated older adults (0·82 [0·65-1·04]). Compared with unvaccinated individuals, lower odds of ICU admission were found for partially vaccinated children (aOR 0·64 [95% CI 0·44-0·92]) and fully vaccinated children (0·52 [0·28-0·98]), but not for adults with pre-existing conditions (1·25 [0·93-1·67]) or older adults (0·88 [0·72-1·08]). Lower odds of in-hospital death (0·62 [0·50-0·78]) were found in vaccinated versus unvaccinated older adults, with or without ICU admission, but did not differ significantly in partially vaccinated (1·35 [0·57-3·20]) or fully vaccinated young children (0·88 [0·16-4·82]) or adults with pre-existing medical conditions (1·09 [0·73-1·63]) compared with the respective unvaccinated patient groups. INTERPRETATION: Influenza vaccination was associated with illness attenuation among those hospitalised with influenza, although results differed by vaccine target group. These findings might suggest that attenuation of disease severity might be specific to certain target groups, seasons, or settings. FUNDING: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. TRANSLATIONS: For the Spanish and Portuguese translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Impact of varicella vaccination in Argentina: Seroprevalence in children and adults in a pediatric hospital.

BACKGROUND: Varicella is the primary infection caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV). In Argentina, the varicella vaccine was introduced in the National Immunization Programme in 2015 as a single dose scheduled at 15 months of age. OBJECTIVES: To estimate VZV seroprevalence in a healthy hospital based population before and after vaccine introduction to the NIP. MATERIAL Y METHODS: Cross-sectional, observational, analytic study. Healthy subjects 1-40 years of age were included between June and December 2019 and tested for VZV-antibodies. Results were compared to data from a similar prevaccination study. RESULTS: Out of 599 samples, 11 indeterminate results were excluded, 424 were positive; overall seroprevalence rate was 72.1% (95 %CI = 68,3-75,8%). No differences were observed between pre and post vaccination studies for overall prevalence or between age groups, except for vaccinated children aged 11-15 (p = 0,005). Rates increased in both periods in subjects aged 6 years or older. Primary vaccine failures were 21%; in subjects <5 years 83% seropositive cases had been vaccinated, in >5 year-olds >90% seropositive cases were associated with a history of infection (OR: 10,4; IC95%: 6,4-16,8; p < 0,001) or household contact (OR:4,8; IC95%: 3,1-7,6; p < 0,001). Vaccination protected against disease (OR: 0.25; 95 %CI: 0.09-0.68; p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: seroprevalence was high in all age groups except in unvaccinated 12 to 15-month infants. Seropositivity was due to vaccination in 15 months to 5 year-old children and to infection in older children.

Effectiveness of mRNA-1273, BNT162b2, and BBIBP-CorV vaccines against infection and mortality in children in Argentina, during predominance of delta and omicron covid-19 variants: test negative, case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the effectiveness of a two dose vaccine schedule (mRNA-1273, BNT162b2, and BBIBP-CorV) against SARS-CoV-2 infection and covid-19 related death and short term waning of immunity in children (3-11 years old) and adolescents (12-17 years old) during periods of delta and omicron variant predominance in Argentina. DESIGN: Test negative, case-control study. SETTING: Database of the National Surveillance System and the Nominalized Federal Vaccination Registry of Argentina. PARTICIPANTS: 844 460 children and adolescents without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection eligible to receive primary vaccination schedule who were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by polymerase chain reaction or rapid antigen test from September 2021 to April 2022. After matching with their corresponding controls, 139 321 (60.3%) of 231 181 cases remained for analysis. EXPOSURES: Two dose mRNA-1273, BNT162b2, and BBIBP-CorV vaccination schedule. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: SARS-CoV-2 infection and covid-19 related death. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the odds of SARS-CoV-2 infection among two dose vaccinated and unvaccinated participants. Vaccine effectiveness was estimated as (1-odds ratio)×100%. RESULTS: Estimated vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection was 61.2% (95% confidence interval 56.4% to 65.5%) in children and 66.8% (63.9% to 69.5%) in adolescents during the delta dominant period and 15.9% (13.2% to 18.6%) and 26.0% (23.2% to 28.8%), respectively, when omicron was dominant. Vaccine effectiveness declined over time, especially during the omicron period, from 37.6% (34.2% to 40.8%) at 15-30 days after vaccination to 2.0% (1.8% to 5.6%) after ≥60 days in children and from 55.8% (52.4% to 59.0%) to 12.4% (8.6% to 16.1%) in adolescents.Vaccine effectiveness against death related to SARS-CoV-2 infection during omicron predominance was 66.9% (6.4% to 89.8%) in children and 97.6% (81.0% to 99.7%) in adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccine effectiveness in preventing mortality remained high in children and adolescents regardless of the circulating variant. Vaccine effectiveness in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection in the short term after vaccination was lower during omicron predominance and decreasing sharply over time. TRIAL REGISTRATION: National Registry of Health Research IS003720.

Influenza virus: 16 years' experience of clinical epidemiologic patterns and associated infection factors in hospitalized children in Argentina.

BACKGROUND: Influenza is an important cause of acute lower respiratory tract infection (aLRTI), hospitalization, and mortality in children. This study aimed to describe the clinical and epidemiologic patterns and infection factors associated with influenza, and compare case features of influenza A and B. METHODS: In a prospective, cross-sectional study, patients admitted for aLRTI, between 2000 and 2015, were tested for respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, influenza, or parainfluenza, and confirmed by fluorescent antibody (FA) or real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay of nasopharyngeal aspirates. RESULTS: Of 14,044 patients, 37.7% (5290) had FA- or RT-PCR-confirmed samples that identified influenza in 2.8% (394/14,044; 91.4% [360] influenza A, 8.6% [34] influenza B) of cases. Influenza frequency followed a seasonal epidemic pattern (May-July, the lowest average temperature months). The median age of cases was 12 months (interquartile range: 6-21 months); 56.1% (221/394) of cases were male. Consolidated pneumonia was the most frequent clinical presentation (56.9%; 224/394). Roughly half (49.7%; 196/394) of all cases had previous respiratory admissions; 9.4% (37/394) were re-admissions; 61.5% (241/392) had comorbidities; 26.2% (102/389) had complications; 7.8% (30/384) had nosocomial infections. The average case fatality rate was 2.1% (8/389). Chronic neurologic disease was significantly higher in influenza B cases compared to influenza A cases (p = 0.030). The independent predictors for influenza were: age ≥6 months, odds ratio (OR): 1.88 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.44-2.45); p<0.001; presence of chronic neurologic disease, OR: 1.48 (95% CI: 1.01-2.17); p = 0.041; previous respiratory admissions, OR: 1.71 (95% CI: 1.36-2.14); p<0.001; re-admissions, OR: 1.71 (95% CI: 1.17-2.51); p = 0.006; clinical pneumonia, OR: 1.50 (95% CI: 1.21-1.87); p<0.001; immunodeficiency, OR: 1.87 (95% CI: 1.15-3.05); p = 0.011; cystic fibrosis, OR: 4.42 (95% CI: 1.29-15.14); p = 0.018. CONCLUSION: Influenza showed an epidemic seasonal pattern (May-July), with higher risk in children ≥6 months, or with pneumonia, previous respiratory admissions, or certain comorbidities.

Evaluación del uso en adultos de cuatro vacunas: una encuesta poblacional en Argentina / Assessment of the use in adults of four vaccines: a population survey in Argentina

La vacunación es una de las estrategias más efectivas para la prevención de enfermedades. Argentina inició la transición de la vacunación del niño a la de la familia, incorporando la vacunación del adulto. Una de las dificultades con este último grupo es determinar el porcentaje de utilización (PU) de las vacunas. Con el objetivo de caracterizar el PU de las vacunas en adultos en Argentina, la Encuesta Nacional de Factores de Riesgo que realizó el Ministerio de Salud de la Nación en 2013 incluyó un módulo de vacunación. El diseño muestral fue estratificado y multietápico. Fueron encuestadas 32 365 personas >18 años sobre el uso de cuatro vacunas incluidas en el Calendario Nacional de Vacunación: hepatitis B, tétanos, influenza y neumococo. Se consideró toda la población encuestada para tétanos y hepatitis B y ciertos grupos en riesgo para influenza y neumococo, de acuerdo con las recomendaciones. El PU varió según las vacunas analizadas: tétanos 49.8%, hepatitis B 21.7%, influenza 51.6% y neumococo 16.2%. Las principales fuentes de información sobre vacunas del adulto fueron, en primer lugar los medios públicos de comunicación (televisión, internet, etc.), y en segundo lugar el personal de salud (70.8% y 27.9%, respectivamente). Se concluye que la encuesta es una herramienta útil para evaluar el uso de vacunas por adultos, identificar poblaciones con baja cobertura, así como para planificar e implementar estrategias para mejorar la cobertura.

Vaccination is one of the most effective strategies for disease prevention. Argentina initiated the transition from child vaccination to family vaccination through the incorporation of an adult schedule. One of the difficulties with this last group is to assess the percentage of use (PU) of the vaccines. With the aim of determining the PU of adult vaccines in Argentina, a vaccination module was included in the National Survey of Risk Factors carried out in 2013 by the National Ministry of Health. The sampling had a stratified multistage design. A total of 32 365 people = 18 year-old were surveyed about the use of four vaccines included in the National Vaccination Calendar: hepatitis B, tetanus, influenza, and pneumococcus. The entire population was surveyed for tetanus and hepatitis B while certain groups at risk were evaluated for influenza and pneumococcus, according to current recommendations. PU varied according to the vaccine analyzed: tetanus 49.8%, hepatitis B 21.7%, influenza 51.6% and pneumococcus 16.2%. The main information sources on adult vaccination were media (television, internet, etc.) followed by health personnel (70.8% and 27.9%, respectively). The survey is a suitable tool to assess the use of vaccines by adults, identify low coverage populations, and to plan and implement strategies to improve coverage.