Worldwide, pneumococcal infection continues to be the commonest cause of vaccine-preventable disease in children. The PCV14 vaccine, with two additional serotypes 22F and 33F, is introduced in India for active immunization against invasive disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in children from 6 weeks of age, for primary immunization. The aim of the review was to assess the clinical spectrum and severity of pneumococcal disease and the current practices in the prevention of pneumococcal disease with vaccination in India, based on expert discussion. Three independent focus group discussion meetings with 32 Indian experts in the field of pediatrics were held over a period of two months to discuss the clinical spectrum and severity of pneumococcal disease and the current practices of vaccination for prevention of pneumococcal disease in India. Currently, there is a limited data regarding different serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae prevalence in different regions across India. PCV14 offers a broader serotype coverage compared to other pneumococcal vaccines which includes additional serotypes 22F and 33F. In countries with mature PCV 13 immunization programs, the pneumococcal serotypes 22F and 33F have increased, since these serotypes were not covered by any pneumococcal conjugate vaccine available for children. The PCV-14 vaccine can be very useful in preventing invasive pneumococcal disease caused by these two serotypes.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Kasi et al. (2026) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: