Pneumococcal vaccine

Pneumococcal vaccine
Pneumovax
Vaccine description
TargetStreptococcus pneumoniae
Vaccine typeConjugate
Clinical data
AHFS/Drugs.comMonograph
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
  • US: ℞-only
  • In general: ℞ (Prescription only)
Identifiers
ChemSpider
  • none

Pneumococcal vaccines are vaccines against the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae.[1] Their use can prevent some cases of pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis.[1] There are two types of pneumococcal vaccines: conjugate vaccines and polysaccharide vaccines.[1] They are given by injection either into a muscle or just under the skin.[1]

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the use of the conjugate vaccine in the routine immunizations given to children.[1] This includes those with HIV/AIDS.[1] The recommended three or four doses are between 71 and 93% effective at preventing severe pneumococcal disease.[1] The polysaccharide vaccines, while effective in healthy adults, are not effective in children less than two years old or those with poor immune function.[1]

These vaccines are generally safe.[1] With the conjugate vaccine about 10% of babies develop redness at the site of injection, fever, or change in sleep.[1] Severe allergies are very rare.[1]

Whole cell vaccinations were developed alongside characterisation of the subtypes of pneumococcus from the early 1900s.[2]

The first pneumococcal vaccine was developed in the 1980s.[1] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.[3][4]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l World Health Organization (April 2012). "Pneumococcal vaccines WHO position paper--2012". Weekly Epidemiological Record. 87 (14): 129–144. hdl:10665/241904. PMID 24340399.
  2. ^ Grabenstein JD, Klugman KP (October 2012). "A century of pneumococcal vaccination research in humans". Clinical Microbiology and Infection. 18 (Suppl 5): 15–24. doi:10.1111/j.1469-0691.2012.03943.x. PMID 22882735. S2CID 25558809.
  3. ^ World Health Organization (2019). World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 21st list 2019. Geneva: World Health Organization. hdl:10665/325771. WHO/MVP/EMP/IAU/2019.06. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
  4. ^ World Health Organization (2021). World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 22nd list (2021). Geneva: World Health Organization. hdl:10665/345533. WHO/MHP/HPS/EML/2021.02.

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