Recent data show rotavirus vaccination reduced rotavirus-associated hospitalizations among German children, according to UK researchers who added that effectiveness did not differ between the two vaccines tested: Rotarix and Rotateq.
Researchers assessed rotavirus vaccination use, case notification, and hospitalization among children aged 0 to 5 years in Germany from 2006 through 2011. Researchers compared the effectiveness of Rotateq (RV5, Merck) and Rotarix (RV1, GlaxoSmithKline).
There were 4.2 to 4 million children aged younger than 6 years during the study period; researchers focused on a subgroup of children aged 0 to 1 year who were vaccinated with RV5 (n=18,025) or RV1 (n=19,936).
There was a significant decrease in notified laboratory-confirmed rotavirus cases among children younger than 1 year. Compared with 2006, there were 74% less rotavirus cases in the high-coverage area and 49% less rotavirus cases in the low-coverage are in 2010.
Reduction of rotavirus notification was directly associated with vaccine coverage of particular federal states. During the study period, rotavirus-associated hospital admissions decreased by 60% in the high-coverage area and by 19% in the low-coverage area.
