Acquisition of Streptococcus pneumoniae in South African children vaccinated with 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine at 6, 14 and 40 weeks of age

A 2 + 1 PCV7 schedule implemented in South Africa was temporally associated with reduced risk of vaccine-serotype colonization compared to historically unvaccinated children. Also, vaccine-serotype acquisition rate using the 2 + 1 schedule was similar to that in the 3 + 1 dosing cohort, suggesting that similar indirect protection against pneumococcal disease could be derived from either schedule in South Africa.