Impact of the 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine on Pneumococcal Carriage Among American Indians

Background: Community-wide impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) is conferred by reductions in vaccine-type nasopharyngeal carriage. We evaluated the impact of PCV13 on carriage of PCV13-specific types (1, 3, 5, 6A, 7F and 19A) and 6C among American Indians. Methods: A nasopharyngeal specimen was collected from community members of all ages between January 2010 and April 2012 (3 months before and 24 months after PCV13 introduction)....