Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine efficacy: an evaluation of current recommendations

The pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine may be more effective in certain patient populations than in others. The pneumococcal vaccine is given to at-risk individuals to prevent community-acquired pneumonia and meningitis. Researchers examined the the effectiveness of the vaccine in 2,837 patients over five years old with an infection of the blood or cerebrospinal fluid between May 1978 and Apr 1992. The vaccine was 57% effective in preventing infections caused by the serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae included in the vaccine. It was 84% effective for patients with diabetes mellitus, 73% for those with coronary vascular disease, 69% for those congestive heart failure and 65% for those with chronic pulmonary diseases. The time since vaccination did not affect efficacy of the vaccine significantly.