In February 2000, the 7-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine was licensed for routine immunization of infants to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) (
Journal Watch Infectious . . .
In February 2000, the 7-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine was licensed for routine immunization of infants to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) (Journal Watch Infectious Diseases 2000 May 1) on the basis of its efficacy in a large prospective, placebo-controlled trial. Information about its effectiveness in the community is scant. These 2 investigations -- a CDC-sponsored multisite study and an analysis from a single children's hospital -- examined trends in the incidence of IPD.
Whitney and colleagues collated data from 7 states or metropolitan areas (encompassing 16 million people) that participated in a prospective surveillance project from 1998 through 2001and found that the overall rate of IPD dropped from 24.3 per 100,000…