Starting from today, the Health Bureau (SSM) announced on Friday, children aged below two will be jabbed with 15-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV15) which provides two additional serotypes instead of 13-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV13), providing added protection against pneumococcal disease*.
Friday’s SSM statement highlighted the bureau’s warning as noting that Streptococcus pneumoniae can not only cause otitis media, but also invade the brain membrane and blood, causing meningitis, bacteraemia and septicaemia) and leading to serious and even fatal invasive Streptococcal Pneumoniae disease, which is particularly dangerous to infants and children under five-years old, senior citizens aged over 65 and those at higher risk, including patients who have undergone a splenectomy, suffering from HIV or AIDS, cancer, or are receiving steroid treatment.
According to the statement, children under two years of age who have started but have not yet completed four doses of 13-valent vaccine can directly switch to 15-valent vaccine to complete the remaining doses in subsequent vaccinations, with no change in the interval between doses, i.e., the second, fourth, sixth and 15th months respectively. No changes have been made for children who have been jabbed with four doses of 13-valent vaccine.
The bureau stated that 13-valent or 15-valent vaccination will also be available at the city’s health centres and stations for high-risk individuals aged two and above based on the previous vaccination records of the recipients and according to the existing stock of vaccines, before receiving one dose of 23-valent Polysaccharide Pneumococcal Vaccine (PPSV23) one year after of being jabbed.
*According to Wikipedia, Pneumococcal infection is an infection caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. S. pneumoniae is a common member of the bacterial flora colonizing the nose and throat of 5–10 percent of healthy adults and 20–40 percent of healthy children. However, it is also a cause of significant disease, being a leading cause of pneumonia, bacterial meningitis, and sepsis. The World Health Organisation estimates that in 2005 pneumococcal infections were responsible for the death of 1.6 million children worldwide.
