20-Valent Pneumococcal Vax Adequate for Older Adults - MedPage Today
The 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV20, or Prevnar 20) produced a non-inferior immune response in adults to the 13-valent vaccine (PCV13, or Prevnar 13), with an adequate safety profile, a phase III trial found. One dose of PCV20 produced immune responses comparable to the 13 matched serotypes in PCV13 a month later among adults ages 60 and older, as well as immune responses to six of seven additional serotypes, reported Charu Sabharwal, MD, of Pfizer in Pearl River, New York, and colleagues. Moreover, adults ages 18-59 who received PCV20 produced immune responses comparable to all 20 serotypes as adults ages 60-64 a month later, the authors wrote in Clinical Infectious Diseases . PCV20 also had a comparable safety profile to PCV13 among adults, with fewer than 2% of patients across groups reporting vaccine-related adverse events (AEs), the team noted. FDA approved PCV20 in June 2021, and in October 2021, CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP