The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics
FROM
ISSUE 1479
ISSUE 1479
October 12, 2015 (Issue: 1479)
In 2014, the US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended that all adults 65 years old and older being vaccinated against pneumococcus for the first time receive the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) followed 6 to 12 months later by the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) (Med Lett Drugs Ther 2014; 56:102). In June 2015, the ACIP changed the recommended interval between the two vaccines to >1 year for immunocompetent adults ≥65 years old (MMWR Morbid Mortal Wkly Rep 2015; 674:944). Separating the vaccines by a year or more may improve the immune response to the serotypes in both vaccines. If a dose of PPSV23 is given earlier than the recommended interval, it does not need to be repeated.
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