This vaccine, I must say, by far the most important add on vaccine ever. If any parents, has got only a couple hundred bucks to spare for vaccine for their children, this is the one that they should buy. Not that, the other ‘add-on’ vaccine is not important, but this is the MOST important.
There are 3 types of pneumococcal vaccine (correct as of the time this article is written).
1) Prevenar – The earliest pneumococcal vaccine available. It protects against 7 serotypes of pneumococcal.
2) Synflorix – The newer vaccine, that protect against 10 serotypes
3) Prevnar 13 – Protect against 13 serotypes.
Basically, ‘serotypes’ means ‘types’. The bacteria pneumococcal has got many many types, and specific types are the one that is causing diseases in children. So of course, the more types, the coverage of the vaccine, the better it is.
In Malaysia, 1 and 2 is available to date. (3) is not here yet. The price is about Rm200 per dose for prevenar and Rm 280 per dose of synflorix.
The commonest questions I’ll get when parents asked me about this vaccine is, how good is this, and is this worth the money??
The vaccine protects agains 3 types of common infection. It protects against infection of the ear, lung and brain. So, with just one vaccine, there will be 3 diseases that is being prevented. So, I would say, it’s worth the money!
If your child is less than 6 months old, he or she needs 4 doses of the vaccine. The first 3 are 2 months apart, then the last MUST be at 2nd yr of life.
If your child is between 6-12 months, then only 3 doses are needed. And the last dose MUST be at the 2nd year of life
If your child is more than 1 yr old, then he or she only need 2 doses.
The next question I’ll get is this, “Doc, can I just wait till the child is more than 1 yr old, then only I give the vaccine? At least i can save some money!”
Well the answer is ‘Yes”, but your child won’t be protected during the 1st yr of his/her life. Bear in mind that, these type of bacterial infections are worse if the child is younger. So, essentially, it’s like buying insurance. You can wait, till you are 50 yrs old then only start getting insurance!
Another important point of this vaccine is this. The vaccine should and must be given, within the same week with other vaccines (given by govt hospitals/clinics). Do not give prevenar vaccination this week and then give the ‘usual’ vaccine the other week. This will defeat the purpose of both vaccines! So, either, give together or at least 1 month apart.
I hope you, as readers, understand the importance of the vaccine!
so this vaccine is not avail at government hosp? Or i can pay to get it at the government hosp? If i cant, i will have to go to private clinic to get it immediately after getting other vaccine on the same day?
ReplyDeleteYes you're right. Try to make it on the same day. If not plus minus 1 or 2 days. It's very simple, you let your paediatrician know that you're getting the govt vaccination at specific date and ask him/her to allow you to get the pneumococccal vaccine at the same time. Your paediatrician should know. Moreover, doing everything on the same day will let you save some time!
ReplyDeleteNo, you can pay the govt hospital to get the vaccine. The govt don't purchase them. You need to get from private hospital or clinic. It's cheaper in private clinic, coz they don't charge a lot extra like private hospital does.
Some GP clinic don't keep stock of the vaccine, coz it's expansive. So the best clinic to go is paediatrics clinic.
Hi Paul,
ReplyDeleteIt's stated that "The vaccine should and must be given, within the same week with other vaccines (given by govt hospitals/clinics). Do not give prevenar vaccination this week and then give the ‘usual’ vaccine the other week. This will defeat the purpose of both vaccines!
My paed did not advise me on this portion. My little girl is 5+ months. She had her 3rd PCV on the 18th Dec & i brought her for her 3rd 6-in-1 jab on 27th Dec.
Does it mean that it has defeated the purpose of her jab?
hi there.
ReplyDeletethanks for the comment. Appreciate if it continue to come!
The principle of vaccination is this, vaccines should be given at the same time to stimulate our immune system to produce antibodies to attack the disease that we are planning to vaccinate against. That is why, the govt put in as many vaccination as possible in one jab or one day. This is also the reason why, after one vaccination, the next will be a month later, not a week later.
If we were to vaccine a person every week, with different kind of vaccines, our immune system will get 'confuse' and will not mount a response. The medical term for this is 'seroconvert'. If the body don't seroconvert, then the vaccine given is useless, meaning, you can still get the illness even after the vaccination is given.
In the UK, PCV is given 3 times. Once at 2 months, next at 4 months, and the last at 13th months. And all these vaccination are given on the SAME day with other combination vaccination.
Since your child has received a prior 2 doses of vaccine, I can say safely that she's protected. And to answer your question, it's 'Yes' the body's immune system may not be 'boosted' by your 3rd booster dose of vaccine.
Hope this help!
I hope you can subscribed this blog as well. Every now and then, i'll put in some information about vaccination and others related to children health.
Cheers!
Hi Dr Paul,
ReplyDeleteHmmm... never know the vaccination need to be done together. My son had his PCV and compulsory vaccination separately abt 2 weeks to 1 month apart.
How I wish I knew about this earlier. Anyway, thank you for sharing your expertise knowledge with us. Great Posts!
Have a nice day!
HI alyce,
ReplyDeletethanks for the comment. Well, it is never too late to know! Who knows, you will be expecting your next one soon!!
Cheers!
I feel good after read this article..We are Manufacturer of Vaccines and reasearching for new vaccines..
ReplyDeleteHilleman Laboratories is an international organization strengthened by the presence of global leadership and scientific team. For more details about development of Vaccine
immunization schedule for kids | pneumococcal vaccine | conjugate vaccine |