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The World Health Organization has prioritized co-administration of TCV with other childhood vaccines including measles and polio. Researchers from the Groupe de Recherche Action en Santé (GRAS) in Burkina Faso have added to what we know about TCV and confirmed TCVs are safe, immunogenic, and can be co-administered with routine-childhood immunizations at the 9-month and 15-month vaccination visits. These data are important for decision-makers considering country-wide introduction of TCV.
TCV offers sustained protection
In a prior study, children 15-23 months of age were randomized to receive either TCV and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), TCV and meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV-A), or MCV-A and IPV (no TCV) to assess the safety and immune response to TCV. Participants underwent three blood draws, and their blood was tested for immune responses to the vaccine.
To build on these results, GRAS conducted a follow-up assessment 30-35 months after vaccination to compare immune responses in participants vaccinated at 15-23 months who received TCV to those who did not.
Importance of more data
Sustained vaccine immunogenicity demonstrated in this study is important because it confirms coadministration of routine MCV-A and IPV and does not diminish longer-term immune responses to TCV. This data means that Burkinabe children vaccinated at 15 months will likely have protection against typhoid until they reach school-age, at minimum.
Decision-makers in Burkina Faso, and other countries, can confidently think about integrated campaigns or co-administered vaccines knowing that children do not lose protection when multiple vaccines are given at once. As decision-makers work to reach all children with measles, polio, meningitis A, and other vaccines that were missed during the COVID-19 pandemic, this is an opportunity to consider integration of new vaccines such as TCV. The study data from Burkina Faso confirm that co-administered vaccines do not changes the level of protection a child has against typhoid.
Cover photo: Child receives typhoid conjugate vaccine as part of a clinical trial in Burkina Faso. Credit: Groupe de Recherche Action en Santé (GRAS)
