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​​Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) prevent pneumococcal disease but the global impact of pneumococcal vaccination is hampered by vaccine cost.   The PVS trial which is currently being conducted is a large cluster-randomised, non-inferiority, field trial of an alternative reduced dose schedule (doses at age 6 weeks and 9 months) of PCV compared to the standard schedule (doses at age 6, 10, 14 weeks). Around 36,000 infants are being enrolled to receive the intervention over 4 years. PVS is being conducted in rural Gambia as a collaboration between the Gambia Ministry of Health and the MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM.  â€‹ 

​This seminar, run by the Vaccine Centre in collaboration with the Vaccine Epidemiology Short Course, will discuss pertinent aspects of the design of the trial, endpoint definitions to impact policy, requirements to estimate direct and indirect effects of the schedules, safety monitoring, potential bias, and preliminary results. PVS will evaluate the effect of the transition from a standard three-dose schedule to an alternative two-dose schedule in a setting of high pneumococcal transmission and disease. PVS is a pivotal trial that will inform global decision-making concerning the use of reduced-dose PCV schedules. ​ 

Speaker

Dr Grant Mackenzie, MRC Unit The Gambia, LSHTM and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne 

Dr Grant Mackenzie is an epidemiologist/paediatrician based at the MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM and Associate Professor at LSHTM and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne. He coordinates surveillance in rural Gambia for pneumonia and invasive bacterial disease, pneumococcal disease, and carriage, evaluating the effectiveness of pneumococcal conjugate vaccination. His research interests include acute respiratory infections, sepsis, and meningitis with a focus on vulnerable and malnourished children and a motivation to reduce child mortality through vaccination interventions.