Let's talk about Prevnar

[Lollicup]

This is a vaccination that I strongly considering. My LO is now 16.5 months and has never had this vaccination. So far she has received starting at 6 months: 1 DTaP and 3 HiB. I want to get this one for her. According to Dr. Sears, she would need 2 if starting now, or 1 if starting after 18 months.

Wanted to know if this is very necessary at this age and what reactions that I should fear. I ALSO fear pneumococcal.

[taterbug1999]

If you have decided upon this one, I would wait the 1.5 months to just have to do the one shot. Keep in mind, when my dd was small this vax was new, and was marketed as the "ear infection vax". I think now it is more targeted towards people as the meningitis vax.

We actually switched peds during the time my dd should have gotten her last couple shots so when we went in I asked about her getting it and the NP said not to worry with it as she was over 2 years old by that time. Looking back, now that we no longer vax dd and haven't vaxed ds, I find that info very interesting.

But try not to worry yourself to death over this one. Risk of meningitis drops signifigantly with age and in theory the shot at 18 mos. should give her immunity during those last higher risk years (up til 5).

On the prevnar site: "In clinical studies, the most frequently reported adverse events included injection site reactions, fever (38ºC/100.4ºF), irritability, drowsiness, restless sleep, decreased appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, and rash."

HTH, and good luck with your decision

[rlneub]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16651345 The increase in bacterial colonization of the nasopharynx during AOM could be associated with an increase in AOM pathogens and theoretically can predispose PCV7-immunized children with AOM to a higher rate of antibiotic treatment failure or recurrent AOM

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15183627 These findings suggest a natural competition between colonisation with vaccine-type pneumococci and S aureus, which might explain the increase in S aureus-related otitis media after vaccination

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/298/15/1772 In the years following introduction of PCV7, a strain of S pneumoniae has emerged in the United States as an otopathogen that is resistant to all FDA-approved antibiotics for treatment of AOM in children

https://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/344/6/403 The number of episodes attributed to serotypes that are cross-reactive with those in the vaccine was reduced by 51 percent, whereas the number of episodes due to all other serotypes increased by 33 percent.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18845981 Five-fold increase in pediatric parapneumonic empyema since introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/08-054692.pdf Incidence of pneumonia is not reduced by
pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

http://tinyurl.com/5bgbh4 Increase in severe pneumonia in children may be caused by vaccine

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15361721 The proportion of Gram-negative bacteria became 2-fold more frequent than S. pneumoniae in AOM in PCV7-vaccinated young children where PCV7 uptake was community-wide and supply was adequate.

[SunshineJ]

This is the one vaccine that DD received that DS did not. (We stopped vaxing sometime after that.) DD is prone to high fevers, febrile seizures, tends to get sick/irritable easier and has severe allergies whereas DS has only mild seasonal allergies. As far as birth trauma, there was minimal and DS's birth was more difficult for him than DD's was for her. This could very well simply be a difference in child genetic makeup, but looking back I wish I had never had it given to her and can't help but wonder what if.

ETA: Ok now I"m REALLY annoyed. We hadn't researched Prevnar at the time and allowed it because there was a huge RSV scare going on at the time. What does that have to do with anything? Our Dr. at the time (who had always been straigh with us in the past) pushed how this was a pneumonia and RSV preventative vaccine - and looking at the site it's not even recommended for that! He may have been being straight with us given the knowledge he had been given or that may have simply been a way to try to slide in another vaccine, but either way it just goes to show that you really can't trust anyone to do the research for you I guess.

[Sileree]

Thanks for the links rl, I hadn't seen some of them.