Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine at a glance
Medicine class
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine; it does not contain live pneumococci.
Main role
Prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumonia caused by vaccine-covered serotypes.
Administration
Given by intramuscular injection, usually into the thigh in infants or upper arm in older children and adults.
Limits of protection
Does not cover every pneumococcal serotype or every cause of pneumonia, meningitis or ear infection.
What is Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine used for?
Used for active immunisation against disease caused by the pneumococcal serotypes included in the selected product.
Prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease, including bacteraemia and meningitis, within the product’s licensed age range.
Prevention of pneumococcal pneumonia within the product’s licensed age range.
Prevention of pneumococcal acute otitis media in infants, children and adolescents.
How does Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine work?
Purified sugars from the pneumococcal capsule are linked to a carrier protein. This produces an immune response and antibodies that help immune cells recognise and clear pneumococci carrying the included serotypes.
How to take Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine
A trained healthcare professional injects the vaccine into a muscle. Food does not affect an injected vaccine.
Tell the vaccinator about previous pneumococcal vaccines, serious allergies, current illness, immune-suppressing treatment and bleeding disorders.
A minor illness or low-grade fever does not usually require postponement, but acute severe fever or infection does.
Other injectable vaccines given at the same visit should use separate injection sites.
Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine side effects
Common or expected effects
- Pain, redness, swelling or firmness at the injection site
- Fever
- Tiredness, headache, or muscle and joint aches
- Reduced appetite, irritability or sleepiness, particularly in younger children
- Vomiting, diarrhoea or rash
Get urgent medical advice
- Severe allergic reaction, including facial or tongue swelling, throat tightness, wheezing or breathing difficulty
- Seizure, including a fever-related seizure
- An unusually limp or poorly responsive episode in a young child
- Breathing pauses in very premature infants
Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine in pregnancy
Vaccination may be considered when protection is needed, but product information differs. Vaxneuvance requires an individual benefit–risk assessment, while the Prevenar 13 product information advises avoiding use during pregnancy because human data are unavailable. The prescriber should confirm the need and selected product.
Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine while breastfeeding
Inactivated bacterial vaccines may be given while breastfeeding when needed. It is not established whether these selected vaccines are excreted in human milk, so product choice and clinical need should be reviewed.
Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine interactions
Important considerations mainly involve immune response and administration alongside other vaccines or treatments.
Immunosuppressive therapies
May reduce the antibody response, although vaccination may still be appropriate because the underlying condition can increase pneumococcal risk.
Other injectable vaccines
Can often be given at the same visit using different injection sites; product-specific co-administration evidence should be checked.
Common questions about Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine
Answers are fully visible for fast scanning and source review.
Is this a live vaccine?
No. It contains purified bacterial capsule sugars linked to a carrier protein and cannot cause pneumococcal infection.
Can it prevent every case of pneumonia?
No. It covers only selected pneumococcal serotypes and not every organism that can cause pneumonia.
Sources
These sources were used to prepare and review this medicine page.
Prepared and reviewed by the iatroX editorial team.