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CDC Committee Unanimously Votes to Provisionally Recommend Options for Pneumococcal Vaccination in Appropriate Adults

October 21, 2021 • 9:29 am CDT
(Precision Vaccinations News)

New Jersey-based Merck announced on October 20, 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) unanimously voted in favor of updates to pneumococcal vaccination recommendations for adults 65 years and older and for adults ages 19 to 64 with certain underlying medical conditions or other disease risk factors.

Miwako Kobayashi, M.D., MPH, presented 'Considerations for Age-Based and Risk-Based Use of PCV15 and PCV20 among U.S. Adults and Proposed Policy Options' during the ACIP Meeting on October 20, 2021.

In both groups, the ACIP voted to provisionally recommend vaccination either with a sequential regimen of VAXNEUVANCE followed by PNEUMOVAX23 or with a single dose of 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

These updates would apply to adults who have not previously received a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine or whose previous pneumococcal vaccination history is unknown.

These provisional recommendations will be reviewed by the 19th Director of the CDC, Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., MPH, and the Department of Health and Human Services. The final recommendations will become official when published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Additionally, Katherine A. Poehling, M.D., MPH. Pneumococcal Vaccines Work Group Chair ACIP presented the Pneumococcal Vaccines overview on October 20, 2021.

"Today's (ACIP) vote reinforces the potential for VAXNEUVANCE in series with PNEUMOVAX 23 to help address a significant unmet need in the U.S. for adult populations at increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD)," stated Dr. Roy Baynes, SVP and head of global clinical development, chief medical officer, Merck Research Laboratories, in a press release.

"We look forward to the CDC's final, published recommendations and applaud the ACIP and the CDC for their continued efforts to address the significant burden of IPD by continuously evaluating vaccination recommendations utilizing a comprehensive body of scientific evidence."

  • VAXNEUVANCE is indicated for active immunization for the prevention of invasive disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, 22F, 23F, and 33F in adults 18 years of age and older. VAXNEUVANCE is contraindicated for individuals with a history of severe allergic reaction to any component of VAXNEUVANCE or diphtheria toxoid.
  • PNEUMOVAX 23 is indicated for active immunization for the prevention of pneumococcal disease caused by the 23 serotypes contained in the vaccine (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6B, 7F, 8, 9N, 9V, 10A, 11A, 12F, 14, 15B, 17F, 18C, 19F, 19A, 20, 22F, 23F, and 33F), in persons 50 years of age or older and persons aged ≥2 years who are at increased risk for pneumococcal disease. PNEUMOVAX 23 will not prevent disease caused by capsular types of pneumococcus other than those contained in the vaccine. PNEUMOVAX 23 is contraindicated in individuals with a history of a hypersensitivity reaction to any component of PNEUMOVAX 23.

For 130 years, Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases in pursuit of our mission to save and improve lives. 

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Our Trust Standards: Medical Advisory Committee

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