Pneumococcal Vaccine Recommendations

Below are summaries of recommendations from CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). For the full text of the recommendations, see Pneumococcal ACIP Vaccine Recommendations.

Routine Vaccination of Infants, Children, and Adults 65 Years or Older

CDC recommends routine administration of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13 or Prevnar13^®)for all infants and children younger than 2 years of age:

• PCV13 is routinely given to infants as a series of 4 doses, one dose at each of these ages: 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, and 12 through 15 months.
• Children who miss their shots or start the series later should still get the vaccine. The number of doses recommended and the intervals between doses will depend on the child's age when vaccination begins.

CDC recommends pneumococcal vaccination (PCV13 or Prevnar13^®, and PPSV23 or Pneumovax23^®) for all adults 65 years or older:

• Adults 65 years or older who have not previously received PCV13, should receive a dose of PCV13 first, followed 1 year later by a dose of PPSV23.
• If the patient already received one or more doses of PPSV23, the dose of PCV13 should be given at least 1 year after they received the most recent dose of PPSV23.

Vaccination of Older Children and Adults with Certain Indications

In certain situations, children 2 years or older and adults should also receive pneumococcal vaccines. See Pneumococcal Vaccination: Summary of Who and When to Vaccinate for a summary of all pneumococcal vaccine recommendations by vaccine and age.

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Catch-up Guidance for Children 4 Months through 18 Years

The following “job-aid” provides catch-up guidance for pneumococcal conjugate vaccination for children 4 months through 18 years of age, including detailed scenarios by age group and previous doses of vaccine received. This should assist healthcare professionals in interpreting Figure 2 of the Childhood/Adolescent Immunization catch-up schedule.

• Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) Catch-Up Guidance for Children 4 Months through 18 Years of Age [3 pages]

Contraindications and Precautions

PCV13 should not be administered to:

• A person who has ever had a severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) after a previous dose of PCV7 or PCV13 or to any vaccine containing diphtheria toxoid
• A person with a severe allergy to any component of this vaccine

PPSV23 should not be administered to:

• A person who has ever had a severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) after a previous dose
• A person with a severe allergy to any component of this vaccine

Pneumococcal vaccines may be administered, if the provider and parent or patient deems the benefits of vaccination to outweigh the risks, to:

• A person who has a moderate or severe acute illness with or without fever

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