WHO position paper on Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in infants and children under 5 years of age

A 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine has been available

since the early 1980s, and pneumococcal conjugate

vaccines (PCV) have been available since 2009. The focus of this position paper is use of PCV in infants and children <5 years of age; a separate position paper on vaccination of older age groups with conjugate and

polysaccharide vaccines will be developed after

consideration by SAGE. The present position paper includes data on the effects of the 10- and 13-valent PCVs (PCV10 and PCV13) published up to June 2017 and specifically addresses the dosing schedule, product choice and the value of catch-up vaccination in children under 5 years of age.