Immunization Newsbriefs (c) Copyright Information Inc., Bethesda, MD. Brought to you by the National Network for Immunization Information (NNii). Visit NNii's new website at http://www.immunizationinfo.org.
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October 4, 2002
INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"Pneumovax Effect Weak in High-Risk Patients--Study"
Reuters Health Information Services (www.reutershealth.com) (10/03/02); Hagan, Pat
The results of a small, new study, conducted by researchers at St. George's Hospital Medical School in London, suggest that the Pneumovax II vaccine may have only a protective effect of about 30 percent against a certain type of pneumococcal infection in high-risk individuals. The researchers studied 16 adults who received the vaccine--which is routinely administered to people at high risk for pneumococcal infections, such as the elderly and those with chronic diseases of the heart, kidneys, or liver--and found that it provided sufficient protection in just five of these people. The findings indicate that only six of the volunteers saw at least a 100 percent increase in antibodies to the pneumococcal S14 antigen, a component of the vaccine, while just five had an increase in opsonic capacity, a measure of ability to boost phagocytosis of the pneumococcal bacteria. Aventis Pasteur's Dr. Jonathan Van-Tam defended the vaccine, noting that larger epidemiological studies have shown the vaccine--which is formulated with 23 different serotypes--to be effective in preventing infection, with about 65 percent efficacy.
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