Pneumonia Vaccination Reduces Child Mortality

The results revealed that the vaccine reduced childhood mortality by 16% in children. This is the first major randomized, controlled vaccine clinical trial in nearly 20 years to show a statistically significant reduction in overall child mortality.

Other findings of the trial were that the vaccine significantly reduced the need for hospitalization. The nine-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was 77% effective in preventing pneumococcal infections caused by the vaccine serotypes. As a result, there were 37% fewer cases of pneumonia in the children who received the vaccine. The vaccine was provided by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (Collegeville, PA, USA).

Participants and sponsors of the trial include the British Medical Research Council and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (both in London, UK); the World Health Organization (WHO, Geneva, Switzerland); and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID, Washington, DC, USA).


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