Can pneumococcal disease in children be prevented?
The FDA recently licensed a new vaccine for the prevention of pneumococcal disease in children. The new pneumococcal vaccine, Prevnar (manufactured by Wyeth-Lederle Vaccines), is a vaccine in which the serotypes are conjugated (or linked) to a protein. This new pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has been shown to be highly effective in preventing invasive pneumococcal disease in preventing invasive pneumococcal disease (such as young children. In a study of the new vaccine among 37,000 infants in California, the vaccine was over 90% effective in preventing invasive disease among the children studied. The children who received the new vaccine also had 7% fewer episodes of otitis media and a 20% decrease in the number of tympanostomy tubes (ear tubes) placed. The vaccine was also shown to decrease the number of episodes of pneumonia. Prevnar is indicated for use in infants and toddlers. The vaccine should be given to all infants < 24 months of age at 2, 4, and 6 months of age, followed by a
