WASHINGTON – The Food and Drug Administration says it has approved Pfizer Inc.‘s best-selling Prevnar 13 vaccine for use in preventing pneumococcal disease in adults age 50 and older.
The agency’s move on Friday was widely anticipated, coming a little over a month after a panel of federal health experts voted overwhelmingly to recommend the use of Prevnar 13 
as a safe and effective vaccine for preventing the bacterial infection in adults.
as a safe and effective vaccine for preventing the bacterial infection in adults.Pneumococcal disease causes meningitis, pneumonia and ear infection.
Prevnar 13 protects against 13 strains of the disease. It’s already a standard vaccination for infants and young children.
By Mark Lennihan, AP–good job on this article!- Two key late-stage studies of Pfizer’s blockbuster pneumococcal vaccine for children show it works at least as well as a rival in adults, a big market the drugmaker wants to tap.
What does this mean for you?
- If you have chronic sinus infections or pneumonias, I will check antibody levels to see how well you fight infection. If low, you will usually be immunized with Pneumovax™–0.50ml in adults, 0.25ml in children.
- Now, I have a choice: use Prevnar 13 or Pneumovax. Which one is better? You would have to ask!
- Studies haven’t been done with immunodeficient patients comparing the two vaccines, but the FDA now considers Prevnar 13 as effective in normal adults as Pneumovax.
- How about the cost? You guessed it….the Prevnar 13 is ~twice as expensive as Pneumovax™
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