It has a broader range of protection and could replace the two that are now in use.
The vaccines protect against the more common bacterial strains responsible for pneumococcal disease, which causes a range of infections including pneumonia, meningitis, sinus and middle-ear infection. It can lead to very severe illness and even death.These vaccines do not protect against all causes of pneumonia, since that can be due to a range of bugs including other types of bacteria, virus or even fungi.
The new vaccine, PCV20, covers seven more bacterial strains than the PCV13, also manufactured by Pfizer. The PPSV23 is by Merck Sharp & Dohme and covers 23 strains of bacteria. Professor Ooi Eng Eong, a microbiologist at the Duke-NUS Medical School, also said the immune responses from a conjugate vaccine “would theoretically be broader and more lasting than what is elicited by polysaccharides alone”.
“It is also possible that the use of this vaccine can obviate the need for the use of the 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine,” he added. The Ministry of Health told The Straits Times that while the new vaccine has been approved for use here since November 2022, a review is on to decide “whether the vaccine should be recommended for inclusion in the national immunisation schedules”.Prof Lim said the Expert Committee on Immunisation is assessing the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of PCV20 and how it should be used.
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