FX.co ★ CDC Panel Backs Expanded Use Of Pfizer's Pneumococcal Vaccine

Pfizer Inc. (PFE) has disclosed that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has voted to broaden its recommendation for certain pneumococcal vaccines. This includes the PREVNAR 20 (20-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine) for all individuals aged 50 and above. This recommendation awaits final approval from the CDC Director and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The ACIP suggests that PREVNAR 20 should be administered to all adults aged 50 and older, as well as to those aged 19 to 49 with specific underlying conditions or risk factors, who have not previously received a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) or whose vaccination history is uncertain.

On June 8, 2021, Pfizer announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved PREVNAR 20 for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumococcal pneumonia in adults aged 18 and over. Further, on September 30, 2022, the FDA approved an update to the PREVNAR 20 prescribing information to include coadministration with an adjuvanted influenza vaccine (Fluad Quadrivalent19) for individuals aged 65 and above.