Locally available pneumococcal vaccines are safe and effective, the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases under the Department of Health's Centre for Health Protection announced today.

The scientific committee convened a meeting yesterday to review the use of the pneumococcal vaccine in Hong Kong.

After reviewing the epidemiology of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), experts noted that IPD was more commonly found among children aged two to four and seniors aged 65 years or above in Hong Kong, while serotype 3 was the predominant serotype causing IPD in about half of all cases recorded between 2015 to 2019.

The committee considered that locally available pneumococcal vaccines, including the newly registered 15-valent pneumococcal conjugated vaccine (PCV15) and 20-valent pneumococcal conjugated vaccine (PCV20), were safe and effective.

Compared with PCV13 and PCV20, PCV15 induced higher immunogenicity against Serotype 3 which is believed to be more effective in preventing IPD caused by this serotype, the committee added.

Taking into consideration the local epidemiology and available scientific evidence, the committee today issued recommendations to replace PCV13 with PCV15 under both the Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme and the Government Pneumococcal Vaccination Programme.

Relevant immunisation schedules for children and high-risk individuals remain unchanged.

When PCV15 is available under relevant government vaccination programmes, children can receive PCV15 with two primary doses given at two and four months of age, followed by a booster dose at 12 months.

The committee also recommended unvaccinated seniors aged 65 or above without a high-risk condition to receive a single dose of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV), while those with high-risk conditions should receive one dose of PCV15 followed by one dose of 23vPPV one year later.

The use of herpes zoster vaccines was also discussed in yesterday’s meeting and experts considered that locally available herpes zoster vaccines were safe and effective.

Individual older adults and adults with immunocompromised conditions may consider receiving the herpes zoster vaccine after consultation with their doctors.