What is the usual recommended schedule for vaccination with PCV7?
The vaccine is recommended for young children in a four-dose schedule: one dose at 2 months, at 4 months, and at 6 months, and one dose between 12 and 15 months. This recommendation suspends the third and fourth doses usually administered at 6 months and between 12 and 15 months for healthy children. PCV7 is not routinely recommended for children 2 years of age or older. What does the vaccine protect against? The vaccine can help prevent serious pneumococcal diseases, such as meningitis and blood infections. It can also prevent some ear infections. But ear infections have many causes, and the vaccine is only effective against some of them. Pneumococcal infection can cause serious illness and even death. Invasive pneumococcal disease is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in the United States. Children under two years of age are at highest risk. What should physicians do? Children whose 3rd and 4th doses are delayed should receive the missed doses on their first visit to a healthc
