Prescrire international
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Prescrire international · Feb 2002
7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine: new preparation. Prevents rare invasive infections in infants.
(1) Infants under two years of age are the children most exposed to invasive pneumococcal infections (meningitis and bacteraemia). The estimated incidence in France is about 45 cases per year per 100,000 in the first year of life. ⋯ Some small studies of children with sickle-cell disease show adequate immunogenicity. (7) The known adverse effects of the 7-valent vaccine are acceptable, mainly comprising local reactions and fever. (8) The risk of an epidemiological shift towards serotypes not covered by the vaccine (through pharyngeal carriage and invasive infection) cannot been ruled out. In otitis media, an increase in pneumococcal infections due to serotypes not covered by the vaccine negates the benefit of vaccination. (9) In practice, considering the severity of invasive pneumococcal infections and the documented efficacy and safety of the 7-valent conjugate vaccine, vaccination is warranted for individual children under two years of age, especially those at risk, but epidemiological monitoring and pharmacovigilance must continue.