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Pediatric Pneumococcal Disease Prevention

CE / CME

Up to Date on Pneumococcal Disease and Prevention in Your Pediatric Patients

Pharmacists: 0.50 contact hour (0.05 CEUs)

Physicians: maximum of 0.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit

Nurse Practitioners/Nurses: 0.50 Nursing contact hour

Released: July 13, 2026

Expiration: July 12, 2027

Activity

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Course Completed

Benefits of Staying on Schedule

Parents often ask why the current pneumococcal vaccination schedule is structured the way it is. The schedule is based on clinical studies that demonstrated safety of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines administration beginning at approximately 6 to 8 weeks of age.

Vaccination is therefore initiated during a period when infants are particularly vulnerable to pneumococcal infection and when early protection is most beneficial. Administering vaccines according to the recommended schedule also helps protect children during peak periods of respiratory illness.23,24,26

Completion of the full pediatric vaccine series reduces risk of both non-invasive infections and severe invasive pneumococcal disease that can result in long-term complications. Prevention of invasive and non-invasive infections may also reduce unnecessary antibiotic use.

In addition to protecting individual children, high vaccination rates within communities contribute to household and community protection through reduced transmission of vaccine-covered pneumococcal serotypes.23,24,26

To sum up, beginning vaccination at 2 months of age allows protection to develop as early as possible during the period of greatest vulnerability to infection, and completion of the pediatric pneumococcal vaccine series helps ensure the highest level of protection for children, their families, and the broader community.23,24,26

Do you plan to make any changes in your clinical practice based on what you learned in today’s program?