Your Child's Vaccines: Pneumococcal Vaccines (PCV, PPSV)
Medically reviewed by: Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph, MD
The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) and the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) protect against pneumococcal infections.
The bacteria that cause these infections spread through person-to-person contact. They can lead to serious infections like pneumonia, blood infections, and bacterial meningitis.
PCV13 protects against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria, which cause the most common pneumococcal (new-muh-KOK-uhl) infections in kids. PPSV23 protects against 23 types. These vaccines prevent infections in children who get them, and help stop the infections from spreading to others.
When Are PCV and PPSV Immunizations Given?
Infants get PCV13 immunizations as a series of four injections: