Wyeth vaccine to be part of UK childhood immunisation programme

Wyeth has announced that its vaccine Prevenar is to be included in the UK immunisation programme for children.

The drug prevents pneumococcal infections which are caused by the bacterium streptococcus pneumoniae. The infection is responsible for a range of diseases which affect young children and babies, such as septicaemia, pneumonia and meningitis.

The vaccine has been licensed for use in the UK since 2001, and is already part of other childhood vaccination programmes. It has been given to children in the United States since 2000, and more recently has formed part of the Australian child immunisation scheme.

“All babies and young children are vulnerable to these life-threatening and disabling pneumococcal diseases,” said Dr David McIntosh, Wyeth’s European medical director.

“As has been the case in the United States, the inclusion of Prevenar in the UK childhood immunisation schedule is expected to lead to a major reduction in the number of cases of serious pneumococcal disease in babies and young children in this country.”

It is thought that serious pneumococcal infections claim the lives of 50 British children a year.

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