Pneumococcal Vaccines
One of the best ways to help protect against certain types of infectious diseases, including pneumococcal, is through vaccination
Two types of pneumococcal vaccines are available
- Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (PPV)
- Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV)
Both vaccines:
- Contain capsular polysaccharide from different types of pneumococcal bacteria. The number of types, determines the strains of bacteria the vaccine protects against*.
- Don’t contain live bacteria so cannot cause pneumonia
- Safe to be given at the same time as other vaccines for most people (refer to vaccine SPC for exclusions)
The key difference is:
- In PCV the polysaccharides are conjugated to a protein
There are 3 different pneumococcal vaccines currently licensed in the UK:
| Vaccine Name | Manufacturer | Type of Vaccine | Different Types of Polysaccharides * | Main conjugate Protein | Eligibility Age | Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) Link |
| Pneumovax | MSD | PPV | 23 | None | 2 years and over | https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/9692 |
| Prevenar 13 | Pfizer | PCV | 13 | CRM197 | 6 Weeks and over | https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/453/smpc |
| Synflorix | GSK | PCV | 10 | Protein D | 6 weeks to 5 years | https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/463/smpc |
Within the NHS vaccination programme the recommended vaccines are7:
Prevenar 13 |
Pneumovax |
|
Used to vaccinate children under 2 years old, as part of the childhood immunisation programme. The conjugate protein improves the antibody response in young children |
Used to vaccinate people aged 65 and over and people aged 2 years and over in "at high risk" due to long-term health conditions. There is no evidence of the effectiveness of the 'non-conjugated' vaccine in children under 2 years |