Uptake of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine in at-risk populations in England and Wales 1999-2005

Richard Pebody*, J. Hippisley-Cox, S. Harcourt, M. Pringle, M. Painter, Gillian Smith

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    59 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The UK has had a pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination (PPV) programme for groups at higher risk of invasive disease since 1992. This paper presents data from a sample of primary-care practices (Q-RESEARCH) of PPV uptake in patients according to their risk status. Of 2.9 million registered patients in 2005, 2.1% were vaccinated with PPV in the preceding 12 months and 6.5% in the preceding 5 years. Twenty-nine per cent of the registered population fell into one or more risk groups. The proportion of each risk group vaccinated in the previous 5 years ranged from 69% (cochlear implants), 53.4% (splenic dysfunction), 36.5% (chronic heart disease), 34.7% (diabetes), 22.9% (immunosuppressed), 28.7% (chronic renal disease), 15.9% (sickle cell disease) to 12.6% (chronic respiratory disease). Uptake was lower in areas where the non-white proportion of population was >10%. In conclusion, there remain large gaps in the uptake of PPV in several high-risk populations in the United Kingdom. Effective strategies need to be developed to address these deficiencies.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)360-369
    Number of pages10
    JournalEpidemiology and Infection
    Volume136
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Mar 2008

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