FDA Approves New Use For Pfizer’s Prevnar 13 Vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration Dec. 30 announced that it has approved Prevnar 13, a pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine, for people ages 50 years and older to prevent pneumonia and invasive disease caused by the bacterium, Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Pneumococcal pneumonia, caused when the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae infects the lungs, is the most common disease caused by this bacterium in adults, FDA said. When the bacterium invades parts of the body that are normally free from germs, such as the blood or spinal fluid, the disease is considered “invasive.”

FDA said it approved the new use for Prevnar 13 under its ...