PCV10 Vaccine Reduced Inner-Ear Infections by 22%

Infants with ‘inner-ear’ infections may have a new solution to resolve this painful issue.

New research is reporting the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV10) reduced the frequency of acute otitis media (AOM) cases in children by 22 percent.

This reduction was achieved because the PHiD-CV10 vaccine was found to decrease the frequency of the first 2 episodes of AOM.

Additionally, this ‘observational’ study reported a 40 percent decrease in the number of AOM cases in children too young to be vaccinated.

This observation suggests a ‘herd effect’ benefit of this immunization.

Pneumococcal vaccines help protect against some of the more than 90 serotypes of pneumococcal bacteria, which contributes to AOM.

This study of PCV10 usage in Iceland focused on AOM in children younger than 3 years of age. In total, 53,150 children were included and 58,794 AOM episodes.

Acute otitis media is a painful type of ear infection which occurs when the area behind the eardrum becomes inflamed and infected. It occurs when an infant’s eustachian tube traps fluid in the middle ear.

In young children, the eustachian tube is shorter and more horizontal than it is in older children and adults. This makes it more likely to become infected.

In the USA, there are more than 5 million annual cases of children with ear infections. The majority of AOM infections resolve without antibiotic treatment.

But, ear infections remain the most common reason young children are prescribed antibiotics.

There are two types of pneumococcal vaccines: conjugate vaccines and polysaccharide vaccines.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine PCV10 differs from PCV7 and PCV13 in the number of serotypes, and in the concentration of the capsular polysaccharides, immunogenicity, carrier proteins, and conjugation process.

Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends vaccination with the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine 13 (PCV13) for:

• All babies and children younger than 2 years old
• All adults 65 years or older
• People 2 through 64 years old who are at increased risk for disease due to certain medical conditions.

The CDC Vaccine Price Lists provides private sector vaccine prices for general information.

Vaccines, like any medicine, can have side effects, says the CDC. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of vaccines to the FDA or CDC.