In short:
There is information that the vaccine against pneumococcal infection can additionally protect against bacterial complications in those infected with coronavirus.
In detail:
The pneumococcal vaccine will not protect against coronavirus specifically. But! The vaccine will make it easier to get over the disease. With a moderate course of coronavirus infection against a background of weak immunity, pneumococcal pneumonia is often associated. Without help, the body is weakened and cannot cope on its own. It is then that the immunity developed after pneumococcal vaccination comes into effect.
| Germany faces shortage of pneumococcal vaccine due to COVID-19 harm reduction recommendations
Now let's figure out how and why it works
With the spread of coronavirus, the German Ministry of Health recommended that all people over 60 years of age be vaccinated against pneumococcal infection. This will not protect against coronavirus, but will help avoid complications from pneumonia, including deaths. 65-year-old Angela Merkel also decided to get vaccinated. It’s not just the elderly who are interested in the vaccine. This led to a shortage.
The Russian Ministry of Health does not yet provide such recommendations. Neither the older nor the younger generation. The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that vaccination against pneumococcal disease will not protect a person from coronavirus, but adds: “Vaccination against respiratory diseases is important to protect your health.”
How great is the risk of getting sick?
Approximately 10-20% of people are carriers of meningoccal infection. Not all of them are sick - the carrier himself may be healthy. The bacteria live in the nasopharynx and are transmitted by airborne droplets. The sick person is contagious for about 3 weeks, of which 1 week is the incubation period, when the disease does not manifest itself in any way. You cannot get infected from animals or objects.
“We are riding the wave of a rise in meningococcal meningitis.”
The infectiousness of this infection is quite low. However, the incidence of meningococcal disease has a wave-like nature, and 2021 appears to have seen a surge in incidence. For example, V.S. Kovalev, a pediatrician at the Children's Research and Clinical Center for Infectious Diseases of the FMBA in St. Petersburg, in an interview given in February 2021 to the website miloserdie.ru, notes that such rises occur approximately once every 20-25 years, and now Russia is on the rise.
“A large number of people in Russia have already fallen ill with meningitis”
The Business Information Agency of Khakassia cites data from Rospotrebnadzor, according to which the epidemiological threshold for meningococcal infection was exceeded back in March 2021:
According to Rospotrebnadzor, in the first six months of this year, 549 Russian residents fell ill with meningococcal infection. This is 23% more than in the same period last year.
How exactly does the vaccine help?
Even if, as a result of COVID-19, the virus causes lung damage in a vaccinated person, it will most likely NOT be accompanied by a secondary pneumococcal infection. This means that there will be fewer complications, and the disease itself will pass more calmly. The pneumococcal vaccination works as a prevention of complications and can reduce their severity due to the presence of immunity.
Chairman of the Russian Respiratory Society, pulmonologist, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Chuchalin noted that the 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine “ can increase innate immunity”
:
“It has such properties, that is, here we are talking not only about the fight against pneumococcus, but immunity for coronavirus infection is a fundamental issue
».
The expert explained that “when a person suffers an infection such as coronavirus, a pronounced immunodeficiency state develops on the 14th–20th days from the onset of the disease”
.
What does it mean? The protective properties of the respiratory system become weak, and for pneumococcus, which inhabits the oropharynx, a favorable environment arises - it easily penetrates the lower respiratory tract. The pneumococcal vaccine is precisely the remedy that can protect in this situation.
Anti-meningococcal vaccination against meningitis for adults and children
Statistics allow us to conclude that meningococcal infection affects 1.2 million people every year and is the main cause of purulent meningitis. In our state, routine immunization against meningococcal infection is not provided. Vaccination is indicated only in cases of the presence of an epidemic factor.
As a rule, meningococcal infection affects children under the age of 5 years.
Vaccination against meningitis is carried out using the following sera:
- meningococcal vaccine (Russia): it is used to develop immunity to meningococci belonging to serogroups A and C. Such a vaccine is not able to protect the human body from purulent meningitis. The drug can be used after the child reaches 18 months. Repeated vaccination is carried out after three years;
- Meningo A+C vaccine (France): develops immunity in children to cerebrospinal meningitis, which is provoked by meningococci belonging to serogroups A and C;
- Mencevax vaccine (UK/Belgium). Promotes the formation of special bactericidal antibodies that affect meningococci of serogroups A, C, W, Y. The drug is recommended for adults. Children can use the vaccine after they reach 2 years of age;
- Menactra vaccine (USA). The drug helps create antibodies to meningitis pathogens belonging to groups A, C, Y and W-135. This vaccine is indicated for children over two years of age and adults under the age of 55 years.
Meningococcal vaccines are available in the form of a dry substance that requires dilution using the supplied solution. The vaccine is administered both subcutaneously and intramuscularly. The vaccines contain no living microorganisms, which once again proves the safety of the drugs.
What is pneumococcus?
Pneumococci are microbes that inhabit our upper respiratory tract. They can lead to a variety of diseases when the body’s immunity is weakened. With normal immunity and the absence of provoking factors, such as hypothermia or contact with sick people, these microbes do not spread from their habitats.
Body response
Vaccines against meningococcal disease are well tolerated. In 25% of vaccinated people, a post-vaccination local reaction is possible in the form of soreness and redness of the skin at the injection site. Sometimes there is a slight increase in temperature, which normalizes after 24-36 hours.
These vaccines are not required for routine immunization in our country, but you need to know about them, especially for those parents whose child is at high risk of developing meningococcal infection, or those who are planning a vacation in countries with unfavorable conditions for the spread of this infection (some countries Africa). In such situations, it is necessary to think about vaccination in advance. It is necessary to remember about the possibility of such protection even if the child has been in contact with a patient with meningococcal infection.
About numbers
In 2005, the World Health Organization made calculations, and the following picture emerged: 1.6 million people die every year
from pneumococcal infection, of which
800,000 are children under 2 years old and 200,000 are children from 2 to 5 years old.
By the end of 2013, the pneumococcal vaccine had been introduced in 103 countries.
Immunization coverage
reached 25% of the population
. By order of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation No. 125 dated March 21, 2014, vaccination against pneumococcal infection was introduced into the National Calendar of Preventive Vaccinations.
World experience has shown that mass vaccination
reduces the incidence of pneumococcal meningitis
by more than 80% and the incidence of all pneumonia and otitis by more than a third.
PNEUMO 23 / PNEUMO 23
(Polyvalent pneumococcal vaccine for the prevention of pneumococcal disease)
Manufacturer: Sanofi Pasteur S.A. (France)
Composition: each dose of the Pneumo 23 vaccine contains purified polysaccharides of pneumococci of 23 serotypes.
Release form: injection solution: one dose of vaccine in 0.5 ml syringes
Indicated for use: from 2 years of age for the prevention of pneumococcal infection, including diseases such as pneumonia, bronchitis, otitis media, meningitis, sepsis; forms specific immunity to various serological types of 23 bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Particularly indicated for: - patients suffering from congenital or acquired immune disorders, chronic diseases, especially the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, respiratory systems, diabetes mellitus, liver cirrhosis, chronic renal failure, Hodgkin's disease or who have undergone splenectomy (removal of the spleen) - (level mortality in this group reaches 50%); – frequently ill children (especially under 5 years of age); – children living in large groups (for example, in an orphanage or orphanages); – persons over the age of 65 years (mortality from pneumococcal pneumonia reaches more than 40% at this age) – patients with sickle cell anemia – HIV-infected “organized” patients (living in nursing homes, long-term care facilities, prisons).
Vaccination schedule: once from 2 years of age. It is recommended to be vaccinated at the same time as the flu shot. This provides comprehensive protection against two causes of pneumonia, which are (together) the 5th leading cause of death among older people. During your stay in a medical institution: in preparation for operations (removal of the spleen, organ transplantation), treatment for predisposing pathologies - once. Revaccination is carried out once, no earlier than 3 years after the 1st vaccination, with the exception of persons from a high-risk group or patients on immunosuppressive therapy.
Repeated vaccination is recommended for: – adults from high-risk groups (for example, with asplenia) who were vaccinated 5 years ago; – those who have a rapid decrease in pneumococcal antibody titers (patients with nephrotic syndrome, renal failure, those who have undergone organ transplantation) – after 3-5 years, children over 10 years old with nephrotic syndrome, asplenia and sickle cell anemia.
Contraindications: – hypersensitivity, severe allergic reaction to the previous administration of the vaccine; – anti-pneumococcal vaccination less than 3 years before the intended vaccination (except for special indications); – pregnancy (I-II trimester) except in cases where vaccination is indicated; – hyperthermia, acute infectious and non-infectious diseases or exacerbation of chronic diseases (in these cases, vaccination should be postponed).
Advantages: – Pneumo23 is the only vaccine registered in Russia for the specific prevention of pneumococcal infection; – it protects against the 23 most common types of pneumococci and the diseases they cause, including pneumonia (pneumonia), bronchitis, otitis media, meningitis, sepsis; – duration of protection up to 5 years after a single vaccination with the Pneumo 23 vaccine; – the effectiveness of the vaccine, proven by Russian experience – a 6-fold reduction in the number of cases of pneumonia in risk groups; – contains most of the serotypes circulating in Europe that are resistant to penicillin; – available in convenient disposable individual syringe doses; – it is possible to effectively combine vaccination with the Pneumo 23 vaccine with vaccination against influenza for the comprehensive prevention of influenza and its complications; – Pneumo 23 vaccination can be carried out during breastfeeding; – only one dose of the vaccine is needed for effective protection.
Application experience: According to foreign studies, the Pneumo 23 vaccine is effective against 90% of pneumococci that are insensitive to penicillin and 96% of pneumococci that cause disease. The Pneumo23 vaccine is registered in many European countries. When registering the vaccine in Russia, tests were carried out, during which the high preventive effectiveness of the Pneumo 23 vaccine in risk groups was demonstrated: a reduction in the incidence of acute respiratory diseases by 2 times, bronchitis by 12 times and pneumonia by 6 times compared to those who were not vaccinated. The high safety of the Pneumo23 vaccine was also confirmed: local reactions were recorded (hardening, redness at the injection site), which were observed in only 5% of those vaccinated. All adverse reactions resolved without treatment within 24-48 hours from the moment of their onset. General reactions (fever, malaise, etc.) are generally not typical for this vaccine and occur in no more than 2% of immunized individuals.
What vaccines are used?
There are polysaccharide and conjugate vaccines. Polysaccharide ones contain a larger number of strains (varieties) of pneumococci, while conjugated ones are superior in terms of age-specific breadth of application and duration of protection.
In our center, we more often use conjugate drugs - those that are used from 2 months of age and provide long-term immunity, often lifelong.
Pneumococcal vaccines: Prevenar-13 or Synflorix.
They protect against invasive forms of the disease - peritonitis, endocarditis, meningitis, pneumonia, sepsis and form long-term immunological memory. In other words, the body knows, remembers and is ready for defense.
How to diagnose meningococcal infection?
With a mild form of the disease, it can be quite difficult to distinguish it from ARVI. That is why it is important to consult a doctor in a timely manner in case of even a not very serious (in your opinion) ailment! Nasopharyngitis may develop into a more severe form in a few days, and precious time will be lost.
In the case of fulminant development of meningococcemia, the main symptoms are a sharp rise in temperature and a rash. Contact an ambulance immediately, this is critically important to do as soon as possible!
How does infection occur?
The causative agent of meningococcal infection is the bacterium Neisseria meningitides. There are 12 varieties of it, six of which lead to severe forms of the disease. The bacterium is covered with a special capsule, which makes it especially resistant to immune cells.
In most cases, carriage of meningococcus on the mucous membrane does not cause noticeable health problems. And only 10-15% of cases this leads to the development of inflammation.
The route of transmission is airborne. The bacterium enters a healthy body through the mucous membrane of the mouth and nasopharynx during close contact with a sick person or carrier.
ON A NOTE! According to WHO statistics, asymptomatic carriers of Neisseria meningitides are from 10 to 20% of the population.
Through the mucous membrane, the pathogen enters the bloodstream and, quickly multiplying, spreads throughout the body, leading to sepsis (blood poisoning), inflammation of the internal organs, and the membranes of the brain. The first signs may appear after 24-48 hours. In general, the incubation (hidden) period can last from a day to 10 days.
ON A NOTE! The disease is classified as a “war” infection, since the increase in incidence is directly correlated with wars, as well as major disasters and accidents. Almost any situation that leads to stress, as well as significant crowding of people in poor living conditions, leads to the occurrence of meningococcal infection. It has been proven that if the number of meningococcal carriers in a team reaches 20% or more, then clinically pronounced forms of the disease appear.
Symptoms
The course of pneumococcal infection may be asymptomatic or mild. The disease becomes dangerous if it causes pneumonia, meningitis, bacteremia or other complications. Regardless of what they are, at the beginning of the disease, severe fever with chills, shortness of breath and cough, and chest pain may appear. In older people, symptoms may be less severe, and therefore it is especially important for them to monitor their well-being and consult a doctor promptly.
The exact manifestations of pneumococcal infection depend on what kind of disease develops against its background:
- Pneumonia: temperature rises to 38-39°C, weakness, chills appear, possible muscle pain, chest pain, shortness of breath. Accompanied by a wet cough with sputum.
- Meningitis: begins with a sharp rise in temperature to 40°C and a constant headache (the sensation may be bursting). Later, vomiting and high sensitivity to light, sounds, smells and other irritants may appear. The mental state changes: a person may seem stunned, inhibited, fall into a stupor, and then into a coma. In young children with bacterial meningitis, severe irritability occurs. Convulsions may occur.
- Acute otitis media: with the disease, body temperature rises, pain appears in the ear area, sensitivity to sound stimuli becomes more acute.
- Sepsis: when the blood is infected, the body temperature rises, headaches, and weakness appear. Symptoms may depend on which organs are affected (heart, lungs, intestines, kidneys, brain, etc.). In young children, sepsis can be manifested by a decrease in body temperature, severe weakness, refusal to eat and vomiting.
What can be done to reduce the risk of complications after vaccination?
Before vaccination, the child must be examined and examined by a doctor. Even during pregnancy, the fetus is examined using various methods for diseases and developmental abnormalities. The mother must clearly undergo all examinations suggested by the doctor during pregnancy. Before vaccination, children in the maternity hospital are examined by a neonatologist. If suspicious conditions are detected, vaccination is not carried out, and additional examinations are prescribed. Only after them, in the absence of contraindications, the child can be vaccinated. In addition, the maternity hospital screens all newborns for the most common genetic abnormalities. Parents should not refuse to undergo the examination.
Vaccinations in the clinic are carried out only after a doctor’s examination and temperature measurement. The mother can pre-measure the baby’s temperature at home before coming to the clinic. If there is a suspicion that the child is not healthy, it makes sense to postpone the vaccination for several days and observe the child. Children who are not regularly observed by a pediatrician should be examined before vaccination (general urine and blood tests). In children with chronic diseases, you need to make sure that there is remission. They are usually examined by specialized specialists and, if necessary, examined. You should not completely refuse vaccinations in children with severe chronic diseases. You need to create an individual calendar for them. Such children have a high risk of complications from infectious diseases. Children with allergic diseases should try to avoid contact with the allergen before vaccination.
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