NA “Age over 65 pneumococcal vaccine should use Prevenar13"

Amid COVID-19 pandemic, prophylaxis rate should be raised despite high price

The National Assembly pointed out the National Immunization Program (NIP) for the pneumococcal vaccine for elderly population aged over 65 should be switched from the existing 23-valent pneumococcal protein polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) to 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13).

 

The lawmakers claim the state should provide expensive PCV13, instead of comparatively more inexpensive and less preventive PPSV23, to have proper preventive effect against pneumonia in high-risk population amid COVID-19 pandemic.

 

As Prevenar 13 is the only approved PCV13 in South Korea, the National Assembly recommended the NIP to replace Pneumo 23 and Prodiax-23, currently provided for free of charge at public healthcare center, with Prevenar 13.

 

On Nov.

 

4, the Senior Expert Committee Office of the National Assembly Budget and Accounting Evaluation Special Committee addressed the recommendation when reporting the review result of 2021 budget plan by Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

 

The KDCA’s NIP budget plan for 2021 allocated 347.79 billion won with 9.04 billion won (2.7 percent) increased from this year.

 

The NIP offers PPSV23 once as a pneumococcal vaccine for the elderly population aged over 65 at a public healthcare center.

 

Due to COVID-19 hindering the immunization at the healthcare centers, the vaccine is provided temporarily from last June 22 to Dec.

 

31 this year at designated healthcare institute.

 

The Expert Committee Office of the Budget and Accounting Evaluation Special Committee ordered KDCA to consider using PCV13 for the pneumococcal vaccination program to improve prophylaxis against pneumonia amid COVID-19 pandemic.

 

At the moment, Pfizer Pharmaceutical Korea’s Prevenar 13 is the only PCV13 approved for the South Korean market.

 

SK Bioscience was the first Korean company to develop and receive the health authority approval on a PCV13 Skypneumo, but the company lost a patent challenge against Prevenar 13 and had to voluntarily drop the license in South Korea as it failed to evade the patent.

 

The committees explained the recommendation was made, because the number of deaths by pneumonia in elderly population aged over 65 has been increasing steadily in last five years and preventing pneumonia in high-risk group became crucial due to COVID-19.

 

In fact, the number of deaths by pneumonia in population aged over 65 has been surging from 13,701, 15,263, 18,202, 21,820 to 21,855 in year 2015 through last year, respectively.

 

The Expert Committee Office said, “The high-risk group with senior citizens and people with underlying disease forms less antibody with PPSV23 and their duration of sustained antibody is also short.

 

So the vaccine’s preventive effect against pneumonia has been controversial.

 

The 2018 guideline for adult immunization recommends combination of PCV13 and PCV13 in immunosuppressed, asplenic, cerebrospinal fluid leaking and cochlear implanted adults over age of 65 years, who have not been immunized with the vaccine before.” The office added, “While the COVID-19 pandemic has not been fully contained, the government should review providing PCV13 for the high-risk population of age over 65 years as a part of NIP to see effective prophylaxis against pneumonia.”