Seizures are the most common non-gastrointestinal symptom associated with rotavirus infection. Studies have found that during the year following rotavirus vaccination the risk of childhood seizures were reduced by 18-21% for seizures requiring emergency care or hospitalization in the U.S. and by 16-34% for childhood seizures requiring hospitalization in Spain.
United States
Immunization with PCV7 and PCV13 vaccines reduced pneumonia hospitalizations in adults, including the elderly
According to some studies, hospitalizations from all causes of pneumonia declined in 18-39 year old adults in the U.S. by 26% 4 years after PCV7 vaccine was included in the infant vaccination schedule and by a further 12% with the first 2 years after PCV13 replaced PCV7. Though reductions in older age groups were not statistically significant, other U.S. studies showed significant reductions in pneumonia hospitalization rates in all adult age groups, including the elderly.
Immunization during pregnancy protects against serious illnesses and improves pregnancy outcomes
Pregnant women are at particularly high risk of serious illness and death from a variety of bacterial and viral diseases, such as influenza, pneumococcal pneumonia, and Group B strep, for which vaccines exist or are in development. Vaccine-preventable diseases in pregnancy are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as spontaneous abortion, congenital anomalies, preterm birth, and low birth weight.
Vaccinating pregnant women with Tdap vaccine protects young infants from severe pertussis and hospitalization
Infants less than 2 months old are too young to be vaccinated against pertussis yet are at highest risk of severe disease – – a 75% hospitalization rate and a 1% case fatality rate. A case-control study in six U.S. states found that vaccinating women during the third trimester of pregnancy with Tdap vaccine provided 81% protection against pertussis to infants <2 months and 91% protection against hospitalized cases of pertussis.
Immunizing pregnant women against influenza reduces the risk of illness and hospitalization in infants
Infants born to mothers who reported receiving influenza vaccination during pregnancy had a 64% lower risk of getting influenza-like illness in their first 6 months of life, a 70% lower risk of laboratory-confirmed influenza, and an 81% lower chance of being hospitalized with influenza than infants whose mothers did not report getting the influenza vaccine during pregnancy. Since influenza vaccines are not effective in children less than 6 months old, immunizing pregnant women against influenza is a public health priority.
Data is from a study spanning more than 8 years at a large healthcare organization in the Western U.S.
Switching to PCV13 for infants reduced drug-resistant IPD by 78-96% in children under five
A large U.S. study of surveillance data examining the impact of switching from PCV7 to PCV13 for infants demonstrated how important vaccination is in combating antimicrobial resistance. While the incidence of antibiotic-resistant invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) was increasing before the introduction of PCV13, drug resistant IPD declined 78-96% in children under five after the vaccine introduction.
Immunization against rotavirus significantly reduced hospitalizations and emergency visits in children
Prior to the introduction of rotavirus vaccines in the U.S., there were an estimated 205,000 – 272,000 emergency department visits and 55,000 – 70,000 hospitalizations due to rotavirus in children each year. A series of studies found that hospitalizations in children under five due to rotavirus declined, on average by 80% from the pre-vaccine to the post-vaccine era, while both outpatient visits and emergency department visits due to rotavirus declined 57%.
Immunization against rotavirus reduced hospitalizations in both children and adults via herd protection
Several studies in the U.S. have shown that hospitalizations due to rotavirus fell sharply in children too old to be vaccinated as well as in adults after rotavirus vaccines were introduced, indicating herd protection. In one large study, rotavirus hospitalizations in 2008 — two years after the first vaccine was introduced — declined by 71% in 5-14 year old children and by 65% in 15-24 year olds compared to the pre-vaccine period.
Immunization against rotavirus and gastroenteritis saves millions of dollars in healthcare costs each year
A series of studies in the U.S. estimated that the average savings in direct healthcare costs from rotavirus and acute gastroenteritis were between $121 million and $231 million per year once rotavirus vaccines were introduced.
Rotavirus vaccination prevents hospitalizations, ER visits, and outpatient visits, saving millions of dollars in healthcare costs nationally
A study of insurance claims in the U.S. for children under five estimated that, from 2007 to 2011, rotavirus vaccination prevented more than 176,000 hospitalizations, 242,000 emergency room visits and more than 1.1 million outpatient visits due to diarrhea — saving an estimated $924 million in direct health care costs over four years.