Prevenar - Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

Prevenar is a vaccine, which is a type of medicine that helps to protect (immunise) people from certain infectious diseases. It does this by preparing the body's defences to fight the infection, before you catch the bacteria or virus.

Prevenar is usually recommended for use in babies and young children from 6 weeks to 9 years of age. Prevenar is a mixture of the outer sugar coating (polysaccharide) from 7 different strains or serotypes of bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae. Each serotype is joined to a non-toxic protein to make it work more effectively in babies and young children. Prevenar is not recommended for use in adults or in children older than 9 years of age.

Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria are one of the causes of

• meningitis (a serious brain infection that could cause death or brain damage),
• bacteraemia (infection of the blood),
• pneumonia,
• otitis media (an ear infection that can cause pain and temporary hearing loss and may require your child to have an ear operation).

Prevenar can protect against 7 of the strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae that can cause these diseases. Prevenar does not replace the need for vaccination with Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), a vaccine that protects against another important cause of meningitis.

Your child cannot catch any of the above diseases from the vaccine itself, because it is not made with live or whole bacteria. The chance of a severe reaction from Prevenar is very small and the risks from not being vaccinated with Prevenar can be very serious.

If you have any questions about this vaccination, ask your doctor at CMC.