Pneumococcal Infection

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the discovery of penicillin, the first naturally occurring antibiotic drug discovered and used therapeutically.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices made new recommendations Wednesday for adult pneumococcal and herpes zoster vaccination.

Merck’s investigational V114 pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, which includes 15 serotypes, met its primary immunogenicity and safety endpoints in two phase 3 pediatric trials, the company announced.

Herd immunity generated by the introduction of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in the United States — first in 2010 for children, then in 2012 for immunocompromised adults, in series with the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine — has driven down the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease, or IPD, in adults with and without underlying medical conditions, researchers reported.