Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for young children

Streptococcus pneumoniae causes approximately 3,300 cases of meningitis, 10 0,000 to 135,000 cases of pneumonia requiring hospitalization and 6 million cases of otitis media annually in the United States. Pneumococcal conjugat e vaccine, approved in 2000 for use in the United States, was designed to c over the seven serotypes that account for about 80 percent of invasive infe ctions in children younger than six years. This vaccine demonstrated 100 pe rcent efficacy against invasive pneumococcal disease in the primary analysi s of a large randomized, double-blind, controlled trial. In the follow-up a nalysis, performed eight months after the trial ended, efficacy against inv asive disease was found to be 94 percent for the included serotypes. When i nitiated during infancy, the four-dose vaccination schedule is set at two, four, six and 12 to 15 months of age. The American Academy of family Physic ians recommends routine vaccination of infants. catch-up vaccination of chi ldren younger than 24 months and catch-up Vaccination of children 24 to 59 months of age with high-risk medical conditions such as sickle cell disease and congenital heart disease.