September 12, 2024

Types of Pneumococcal Vaccines

There are 4 pneumococcal vaccines available in the United States.
Three are conjugate vaccines and 1 is a polysaccharide vaccine.
Pneumococcal vaccines vary in how well they work and what serotypes, or strains, they protect against.
Talk to a vaccine provider if you have questions about pneumococcal vaccines.

Available vaccines

In the United States, there are 2 types of vaccines recommended to help prevent pneumococcal disease:

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs)
- PCV15
- PCV20
- PCV21
Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine
- PPSV23

Each of these vaccines helps protect against specific serotypes, or strains, of pneumococcal bacteria. The number at the end of the vaccine name tells how many serotypes the vaccine includes.

PCVs

PCVs are given to children younger than 5 years old and to older children who need it. Vaccine providers also give PCVs to adults 65 years or older and other adults who need it.

Vaxneuvance^TM (PCV15) helps protect against 15 types of pneumococcal bacteria.

Prevnar 20^® (PCV20) helps protect against 20 types of pneumococcal bacteria.

CAPVAXIVE^TM (PCV21) helps protect against 21 types of pneumococcal bacteria.

PPSV23

Vaccine providers may give PPSV23 to children 2 through 18 years old with certain conditions. Vaccine providers give it to adults who receive PCV15. They also may give it to adults who have received an earlier vaccine called PCV13.

Pneumovax23^® (PPSV23) helps protect against 23 types of pneumococcal bacteria.

How well they work

Vaccines that help protect against pneumococcal disease work well but cannot prevent all cases.

PCVs

Pneumococcal disease rates have decreased dramatically since the United States began using PCVs.

PCV15, PCV20, and PCV21 are new vaccines, so there are no data on how well these vaccines work in real-world conditions. They were approved based on clinical trial data comparing their safety and immune responses to earlier vaccines (e.g., PCV13).

In children

Studies show that getting PCV13 prevented invasive pneumococcal disease caused by vaccine serotypes:

For 4 in 5 healthy children
For 4 in 5 children with certain risk conditions

PCV13 also prevented antibiotic-resistant pneumococcal infections caused by vaccine serotypes.

In adults

For adults 65 years or older, one study found getting PCV13 protected

3 in 4 people against invasive pneumococcal disease
9 in 20 people against pneumococcal pneumonia

PPSV23

Studies show PPSV23 protects between 6 to 7 in 10 adults with healthy immune systems from invasive pneumococcal disease. This protection is against pneumococcal infections caused by serotypes in the vaccine.