Paediatricians require more information before they routinely co-administer the meningococcal B vaccine with routine infant vaccines

AIM: The four-component meningococcal serogroup B (4CMenB) vaccine was licensed by the European Medicines Agency in 2013. We evaluated current practice regarding multiple vaccines and the attitudes of paediatricians towards the 4CMenB before it became available in Austria in 2014.

METHODS: We sent 1624 Austrian paediatricians an email invitation to participate in our nationwide web-based survey and 231 responded.

RESULTS: Most participants regarded the 4CMenB vaccine as a long-needed and necessary tool against meningococcal B disease. However, most participants would not co-administer this vaccine with other routine infant vaccines. The survey showed that 58.9% of paediatricians already co-administered the hexavalent vaccine with the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, but most of them would not add a third vaccine at the same visit. This was mainly due to lack of experience with the vaccine and also because they assumed that parents would not consent. Importantly, paediatricians said they wanted an explicit recommendation in the Austrian Immunisation Plan on the timing of the 4CMenB vaccine before they would confidently and routinely use it for infants.

CONCLUSION: Paediatricians required more information for themselves and for parents before routinely co-administering the 4CMenB vaccine. They also requested a national recommendation on its timing.