Vaccines and Preventable Diseases:
Pneumococcal Vaccination
Pronounced (NEU-mo-KOK-al)
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is recommended for all children less than 59 months old. In addition, children aged more than 24 months who are at high risk of pneumococcal disease and adults with risk factors may receive the pneumococcal polysaccaride vaccine.
What You Should Know:
For Health Professionals:
For the Media:
What You Should Know
- Pneumonia Can Be Prevented – Vaccines Can Help New Oct 2009
- Brief description of pneumococcal disease
Symptoms, treatment, transmission, etc. - Questions and answers about penumococcal disease
- About pneumococcal disease and childhoood vaccination
[70KB - 2 pages] (compliant)
Parent's Guide to Childhood Immunization - Images of pneumococcus and people affected with pneumococcal disease
Warning: Some of these photos are quite graphic. - Fact sheets about pneumococcal disease
The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, PCV or Prevnar® is currently recommended for use in children under the age of 2 years.
Pneumovax® and Pnu-Immune® are 23-valent polysaccharide vaccines (PPVSV) that are currently recommended for use in all adults who are older than 65 years of age and for persons who are 2 years and older and at high risk for disease (e.g., sickle cell disease, HIV infection, or other immunocompromising conditions).
- Who needs the PCV or PPSV vaccine?
- Side
Effects of PCV and PPSV
Excerpt from Vaccine Information Statement - Vaccine Information Statement (VIS) (PCV and PPSV)
- Questions and answers for parents about PCV vaccine
- Are
You Protected?
- Lessening the Pain of Vaccines
Techniques worth trying - Pneumococcal
conjugate (PCV) vaccine mandates for children in
day care
Listed by state - Global pneumococcal disease and vaccines
PCV recommendations, advance market commitment, vaccine support resources, literature, etc.
As with all vaccines, there can be minor reactions, including pain and redness at the injection site, headache, fatigue or a vague feeling of discomfort.
- Common Questions About Vaccine Safety
- Monitoring Vaccine Safety
- Are
vaccines safe?
FAQs on The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia website
- What if we stopped vaccinating for this disease?
- Who should not be vaccinated with Pneumococcal vaccine?
- Pregnancy guidelines
For Health Professionals
Clinical Information on Pneumococcal
- Pink Book's chapter on Pneumococcal Disease [857KB - 14 pages] (compliant)
Epidemiology & Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases textbook - Ask the Experts about PCV
CDC experts answer your clinical questions (Immunization Action Coalition) - Ask the Experts about PPSV
CDC experts answer your clinical questions (Immunization Action Coalition) - NIPINFO answers your questions about Pneumococcal Vaccination
- Proper handling of PCV and PPSV vaccines
Vaccine Recommendations
- ACIP vaccine-specific recommendations
- Standing Orders
- Contraindications
- Package inserts
(Prevnar, Pneumovax 23, and more package inserts...) NEW Feb 2010
- ACIP - Vaccines for Children (VFC) Resolution
References and Resources
- MMWRs on PCV and PPSV
- Pneumococcal vaccine-related articles
- Pink Book's chapter on Pneumococcal Disease [857KB - 14 pages] (compliant)
Epidemiology & Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases textbook - Surveillance:
- Surveillance manual's chapter on Pneumococcal Disease
Manual for the Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases textbook - Active Bacterial Core surveillance
- Surveillance manual's chapter on Pneumococcal Disease
- Laboratory:
- CDC Streptococcal Laboratory
Scheme for identifying pneumococcal serotypes using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). - CDC's Pneumococcal Clone Identification
Laboratories that conduct pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) can use this info to identify...
- CDC Streptococcal Laboratory
- Global pneumococcal disease and vaccines
PCV recommendations, advance market commitment, vaccine support resources, literature, etc. - Travelers
Health: Yellow Book
Chapter on pneumococcal disease - Influenza and pneumococcal (PPSV) mandates for long term care facilities
- IDSA and ATS Consensus Guidelines on the Management of Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Adults
Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and American Thoracic Society (ATS)
Clinical Infectious Diseases 2007;44:S27–S72
Provider Education
- Prevention of Pneumococcal Infections Secondary to Seasonal and 2009 H1N1 Influenza New Oct 2009
- CDC Letter to Providers Promoting PPSV for Adults New Nov 2009
- CDC Health Alert Network (HAN) Info Service Message: 2009 H1N1 Pandemic Update: Pneumococcal Vaccination Recommended to Help Prevent Secondary Infections New Nov 2009
- 2009 Clinical education slide set
[PPT - 135KB] Updated May 2009
from the 11th edition "Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases" course - Pneumococcal
Polysaccharide
Vaccination Pocket Guide
Intended to be a provider's partner to help with pneumococcal vaccination - Recommended childhood and adult immunization schedules
Materials for Patients
- Q&As about Prevention of Pneumococcal Infections Secondary to Seasonal and 2009 H1N1 Influenza New Oct 2009
- Questions about the pneumococcal shot (brochure)
- Ask your doctor about pneumococcal shot (card)
- Vaccine Information Statement (VIS) (PCV and PPSV)
- Important facts for patients to know about PPSV [67KB - 1 page]
- Podcasts on immunization topics
- Stories of people who suffered or died from vaccine-preventable diseases
- Pneumococcus: Questions and Answers [114KB - 4 pages]
Ready-to-print version of one of the CDC-reviewed Q&A materials located on IAC's Vaccine Information website (http://www.vaccineinformation.org) Updated 4/09
For the Media
- CDC Says Immunizations Reduce Deaths From Influenza and Pneumococcal
Disease Among Older Adults [209 KB - 10 pages] (compliant) posted June 2008 - Background
information on pneumococcal disease and vaccines for media
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Content last reviewed on September 5, 2008
Content Source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
