To understand the disease burden due to Herpes Zoster (HZ) among people aged ≥50 years old in China and provide baseline data for future similar studies, and provide evidence for development of herpes zoster vaccination strategy. Retrospective cohort study was conducted in 4 townships and one community. A questionnaire was used to collect information on incidence and cost of HZ among people aged ≥ 50 years old. The cumulative incidence rate was 22.6/1,000 among people aged ≥ 50 years old. The average annual incidence rate of HZ was 3.43/1,000 among people aged ≥ 50 years old in 2010–2012. Cumulative incidence and average annual incidence rate increased with age: the cumulative incidence of HZ among people aged ≥ 80 years old was 3.34 times of that among 50- years old (52.3/1000vs15.7/1,000); average annual incidence rate rises from 2.66/1,000 among 50- years old to 8.55/1,000 among 80- year old. Cumulative incidence and average annual incidence rate for females were higher than that for males (cumulative incidence, 26.5/1000vs18.7/1,000; annual incidence rate, 3.95/1000vs2.89/1,000). Cumulative incidence and average annual incidence rate in urban were higher than in rural (cumulative incidence, 39.5/1000vs 17.2/1,000; annual incidence rate, 7.65/1000vs2.06/1,000). The hospitalization rate of HZ was 4.53%. And with the increase of age, the rate has an increasing trend. HZ costs 945,709.5 RMB in total, corresponding to 840.6 RMB per patient with a median cost of 385 RMB (interquartile range 171.7–795.6). Factors associated with cost included the first onset year, area, whether hospitalized and whether sequelae left. Incidence rate, complications, hospitalization rate and average cost of HZ increase with age. We recommend that the HZ vaccinations should target people aged ≥50 years old if Zoster vaccine is licensed in China.

Background: To obtain the baseline data on the incidence and cost of community acquired pneumonia among under-5 children for future studies, and provide evidence for shaping China's strategies regarding pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV). Methods: Three townships from Heilongjiang, Hebei and Gansu Province and one community in Shanghai were selected as study areas. A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data on incidence and cost of pneumonia among children under 5 y old in 2012. Results: The overall incidence of clinically diagnosed pneumonia in children under 5 y old was 2.55%. The incidence in urban area was 7.97%, higher than that in rural areas (1.68%). However, no difference was found in the incidences of chest X-ray confirmed pneumonia between urban and rural areas (1.67% vs 1.23%). X-ray confirmed cases in rural and urban areas respectively accounted for 73.45% and 20.93% of all clinically diagnosed pneumonia. The hospitalization rate of all cases was 1.40%. Incidence and hospitalization rate of pneumonia decreased with age, with the highest rates found among children younger than one year and the lowest among children aged 4 (incidence: 4.25% vs 0.83%; hospitalization: 2.75% vs 0.36%). The incidence was slightly higher among boys (2.92% vs 2.08%). The total cost due to pneumonia for the participants was 1138 733 CNY. The average cost and median cost was 5722 CNY and 3540 CNY separately. Multivariate analysis showed that the only factor related to higher cost was hospitalization. Conclusions: The disease burden was high for children under 5 y old, especially the infant. PCV has not been widely used among children, and thus further health economics evaluation on introducing PCV into National Immunization Program should be conducted.

Objective: This study estimates the cost-effectiveness of vaccination with the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) among infants in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Karamay, Qingdao, and Suzhou. Methods: A previously published cost-effectiveness model comparing vaccination with PCV13 to no vaccination was localized to the included Chinese cities. A systematic literature review was undertaken to identify age-specific incidence rates for pneumococcal bacteremia, pneumococcal meningitis, pneumonia, and otitis media (AOM). Age-specific direct medical costs of treating the included pneumococcal diseases were taken from the Chinese Health Insurance Association database. The base case analysis evaluated vaccine efficacy using direct effect and indirect effects (DE+ IDE). A subsequent scenario analysis evaluated the model outcomes if only DE was considered. A vaccination rate of 70% was used. The model reported outcomes over a one-year period after it was assumed the vaccine effects had reached a steady state (5–7 years after vaccine introduction) to include the direct and indirect effects of vaccination. Health outcomes were discounted at 5% during the steady-state period. Results: Vaccination with PCV13 was cost-effective in the base case analysis for all included cities with the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) ranging from 1145 CNY(Shenzhen) to 15,422 CNY (Qingdao) per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. PCV13 was the dominant strategy in Shanghai with lower incremental costs and higher incremental QALYs. PCV13 remained cost-effective in the DE-only analysis with all ICERs falling below a cost-effectiveness threshold of three times GDP per capita in each city. Conclusions: Vaccination with PCV13 was a cost-effective strategy in the analyzed cities for both the DE-only and DE + IDE analyses. PCV13 became very cost-effective when a vaccination rate was reached where IDE is observed.

Objective: In China, Hib vaccine is a private-sector vaccine that is an option for parents to select to give to their children; it must be paid for out-of-pocket because it is not included in the government's Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). We evaluated utilization patterns of Hib vaccine to provide evidence in support of development of a national Hib vaccination strategy. Methods: We obtained lists of children from immunization information systems (IIS) of counties or districts in 8 provinces of China. Using these lists, we selected 10 children at random from each birth cohort from 2008 through 2012. We obtained Hib vaccination dates from official vaccination certificates. The target sample size was 1,000 children. Results: We were able to obtain records for 978 subjects of the selected subjects; of these, 44.79% had received at least 1 dose of Hib vaccine, and 15.54%, 5.83%, 12.27%, and 11.15% had received one, two, three, and four doses, respectively. Per capita GDP was positively correlated with receipt of at least one dose of Hib vaccine. Among the 438 subjects who received Hib vaccine, 27% received 1 dose after 12 months of age; 15%, 7%, and 23% received one of three other patterns of Hib vaccination recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) [a 3-dose primary series; 2 primary series doses and 1 booster; or 3 primary series doses and 1 booster]. The other 28% of subjects received patterns of Hib vaccination not recommended by WHO. Considering protection from Hib disease as receipt of a WHO-recommended Hib vaccine schedule, 29% of subjects could be considered protected after 12 months of age, 52% could be considered protected during infancy and beyond, and 19% could be considered to not have been protected adequately, despite being vaccinated. Conclusions: Coverage with Hib vaccine was low. There were significant differences between WHO recommendations and actual patterns of use of Hib vaccine, with half of vaccine recipients receiving no protection during infancy and one fifth receiving non-protective Hib vaccination patterns. Inclusion of Hib vaccine into China's EPI system, which provides vaccine at no charge to parents and makes specific vaccination schedule standards, has potential to make more effective use of Hib vaccine.

Background: Active vaccine safety surveillance (AVSS) stands as a top priority for the World Health Organization (WHO), serving as a critical indicator of the fourth maturity level for national regulatory agencies. Objective: This review aims to define the minimal data scope for association studies in vaccine safety, providing a reference framework for implementing AVSS systems worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Methods: The study systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for cohort and case-control studies related to AVSS published between January 1, 2018, and September 7, 2022. Guided by the WHO and Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences guidelines (CIOMS), we developed a 4D framework for Minimum Data Sets (MDSs), including “Vaccine,” “Outcome,” “Demographic Data,” and “Covariate.” Variables with a frequency of at least 5% were included in the MDS. Results: Of the 123 included studies, 102 (82.9%) were cohort studies and 98 (79.7%) originated from high-income countries, covering populations across the entire life course. The MDS for COVID-19 vaccines identified 54 variables, while the MDS for maternal populations included 96 variables. WHO guidelines were found to align better with practical applications compared to CIOMS guidelines, though both require further optimization based on the MDS findings. However, metadata for these essential variables were inadequately described across the studies. Conclusions: The proposed MDS provides clear guidance and concise requirements for AVSS data scope. Establishing a globally standardized MDS and comprehensive metadata based on these findings is essential to enhancing the global vaccine safety ecosystem.