CDC Recommends Pneumococcal Vaccine Combo for Immune Compromised People

“Immunocompromised individuals, including people with HIV, should receive both the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Prevnar 13 and the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine Pneumovax 23 to prevent pneumococcal pneumonia and invasive disease, according to the latest recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) initially adopted the dual vaccine recommendation at a meeting this past June; the full recommendations were described in theOctober 12, 2012,Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Streptococcus pneumoniae remains a leading cause of serious illness among adults in the U.S., including bacteremia, meningitis, and pneumonia, the report noted as background. An estimated 4000 deaths due to pneumococcal infection occur in the U.S. each year,primarily among adults. The incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease ranges from 3.8 per 100,000 among people age 18-34 years, to 36.4 per 100,000 among those age 65 years or older. Immune-compromising conditions dramatically increase the risk, with rates of 173 per 100,000 among people with HIV and 186 per 100,000 among adults with hematologic malignancies such as leukemia…”

via HIVandHepatitis