Promising results for COVID-19 and pneumococcal vaccine co-administration

Pfizer has  announced positive top-line results from a Phase III study (NCT04887948) describing the safety and immunogenicity of Prevnar 20™ (Pneumococcal 20-valent Conjugate Vaccine) when co-administered with a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (Comirnaty^®).

The study compared the safety and immunogenicity of Prevnar 20 when administered at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccine, with when each vaccine was given with placebo in 570 US adults aged 65 years and over.

According to the company, responses elicited by Prevnar 20 for all 20 serotypes were similar whether given with a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (n=190) or with placebo (n=191). Responses to a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine were also similar when given with Prevnar 20 or given with placebo (n=189). The safety profile of co-administering Prevnar 20 with a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine generally reflected that observed with the COVID-19 vaccine booster dose.

Dr Kathrin Jansen, Senior Vice President and Head of Vaccine Research & Development at Pfizer commented: “These new safety and immunogenicity data provide further evidence supporting the potential to administer Prevnar 20 and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the same time, thereby reducing the number of visits adults make to their doctor’s office or pharmacy for recommended immunisation.”

The initiation of the study exploring the co-administration of Prevnar 20 with a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in older adults was announced in May 2021. Pfizer said it will seek to present and publish detailed outcomes from this clinical trial at a future date. At this time no co-administration data are included in the PREVNAR 20 or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine prescribing information.

About Prevnar 20

Prevnar 20 is Pfizer’s next-generation pneumococcal conjugate vaccine that includes capsular polysaccharide conjugates for the 13 serotypes already included in Prevnar 13^® (1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F and 23F) and seven additional serotypes (8, 10A, 11A, 12F, 15B, 22F and 33F) that cause invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and have been associated with high case-fatality rates, antibiotic resistance and/or meningitis. Prevnar 20 helps protect against more strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia than any other conjugate vaccine available.