Vaccine has reduced infant invasive pneumococcal disease in Finland

Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in infants has decreased considerably after the introduction of a pneumococcal vaccine into the Finnish national vaccination programme in September 2010.

According to the 2011 surveillance data, a reduction of over 80% in the IPD occurrence was observed in infants aged 6–11 months compared to years prior to the vaccination campaign.

The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine currently in the national programme protects against 10 different types of pneumococcal bacteria. So far no IPD cases belonging to the preventable types have been observed in children who have received at least two vaccine doses according to the national programme.

The National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) follows the impact of pneumococcal vaccinations on the burden of pneumococcal disease using national population-based registers.

European Immunization Week, lead by WHO Regional Office for Europe, takes place this week. WHO promotes the message that immunization of every child is vital to prevent diseases and protect life.

More information:

The effectiveness of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in the Finnish National Vaccination Programme (poster presented in international symposium for pneumococcal diseases, March 11-15, 2012)

European Immunization Week (WHO Website)

Questions concerning pneumococcal vaccination
Hanna Nohynek
Senior Researcher
tel. +358 20 610 8246

Questions concerning the epidemilogy of pneumococcal infections
Pekka Nuorti
Senior Medical Officer
puh. +358 40 190 1685

firstname.lastname@thl.fi