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A Vaccine Eliminated A Deadly Killer Of Infants. So Why Do Some People Fear It?

Prevnar, the vaccine against the pneumococcus bacterium, is one of the greatest pharmaceutical innovations of the past two decades. In children who are vaccinated, it eliminated most of the pneumonia and meningitis that bacteria causes. It proved so effective, in fact, that fewer pneumococcal infections occur in people over 65 who have never gotten the vaccine, because the germs are no longer circulating. It has, quite simply, changed the world for the better.

“We don't see significant pneumococcal disease in kids anymore,” says Kenneth Bromberg, chairman of the department of pediatrics at Brooklyn Hospital Center. He remembers when brain and bloodstream infections and deadly pneumonias…

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Featured

 A new pneumococcal vaccine is here! Why this matters

Each year, nearly 400,000 children under five years of age die globally from pneumococcal disease, mostly in Africa and Asia. WHO prequalification opens the door for this new vaccine, PNEUMOSIL®, to bolster the prevention toolkit and fulfill its purpose—to save more lives by enabling access that countries in these regions can afford and sustain long term.

Articles of Interest

Pfizer's Breakthrough Vaccine Could Be A Victim Of Its Own Success

There’s already been a dramatic drop in adult infections, the argument goes, and we’re getting it for free by giving Prevnar to kids. Is it worth the cost to recommend a new vaccine in adults?

Pneumococcal Disease: Under the Pressure of Vaccination

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) infection, a serious global problem that is the leading cause of pneumonia and other life-threatening illnesses, is vaccine preventable.

Pneumococcal Vaccine: Vaccinate! Revaccinate??

Older and ill patient are those that revaccination is recommended, yet they respond least well to the vaccine (serologically). Age 65 is arbitrary. There are worse responses and a shorter length of efficacy with increasing age. We say to revaccinate high risk patients, however, high risk people respond least well to the vaccine and for the shortest period of time.

Pneumococcal Vaccines Lead to Reduced Hospitalizations

Past research had already established the vaccines were 80 percent effective at preventing invasive pneumoccocal disease and 27% effective at preventing x-ray-verified pneumonia, but this new research reveals the actual clinical effects of preventing those illnesses.

Why I fight pneumonia

Mark Alderson won’t rest easy until he solves one of the biggest problems in global health: a vaccine against pneumonia.

Why we think vaccines can outwit pneumonia

Pneumonia is a clever killer, responsible each year for the deaths of more than a million children under five years old, most of them in the developing world. If you want to know how serious this respiratory disease is, consider one fact: pneumonia kills more young children worldwide than any other disease.

Resources

Pneumovax 23

Pneumovax 23, also known as PPSV3 (pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine), is recommended for: •All adults 65 and older •Adults 19 through 64 who smoke cigarettes or have asthma •Children and adults 2 through 64 at high risk for developing pneumonia

Prevnar - Child

Welcome to Prevnar.com, where you can learn how Prevnar helps protect infants and toddlers from invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). Prevnar is only available through a health care professional.

Prevnar 13

Prevnar 13, also known as PCV13 (pneumococcal conjugate vaccine), is recommended for: •All children younger than 5 •All adults 65 and older •Children and adults 6 through 64 with certain medical conditions

CDC

Vaccines are available that can help prevent pneumococcal disease, which is any type of infection caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. There are two kinds of pneumococcal vaccines available in the United States: •Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine •Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine

Patient

The vaccine most commonly used in the UK is a polyvalent vaccine containing purified capsular polysaccharide from each of the 23 types of pneumococcus which are responsible for about 96% of serious pneumococcal infections seen in this country. Despite this vaccine, pneumococcal infections still disproportionately affect people with certain high-risk conditions. The conjugated pneumococcal vaccines have been shown to be highly effective in preventing vaccine-type disease in infants and people infected with HIV. Children under the age of 2 years, who are unlikely to develop an immune response to the polysaccharide form of vaccination, and those who are considered to be at risk of serious pneumococcal infection should receive a conjugate vaccine (Prevenar®) containing 13 types of pneumococcus.