The quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine MenACWY-CRM can be safely coadministered with other routine vaccines in all age groups, according to Dr. Roberto Gasparini of the University of Genoa, Italy, and his associates.
Infant immune response to diphtheria, tetanus, poliovirus, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcal conjugate, measles-mumps-rubella, varicella or pertussis antigens was unaffected by coadministered MenACWY-CRM. In some infants under 7 months old, noninferiority criteria were not met for some pneumococcal serotypes, but no consistent pattern was seen.
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In adolescents, a concurrent MenACWY-CRM vaccination did not adversely affect immune responses to tetanus, diphtheria, and human papillomavirus antigens. In adults, the MenACWY-CRM vaccine did not affect immune response to hepatitis A/B, typhoid fever, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and rabies antigens. No group saw an increase in postvaccination adverse events.
“These findings support the concomitant administration of MenACWY-CRM with routine vaccines in all age groups, allowing MenACWY-CRM to be readily incorporated as recommended into existing infant and adolescent vaccination schedules and to be administered with other vaccines as needed in advance of international travel,” the investigators concluded.
Find the full study in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal (2016;35[1]:81-93. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000000930).