Merck backed by CDC panel on pneumococcal vaccine

 Series Would be Routinely Recommended Both for Adults 65 Years and Older and for Adults Ages 19 to 64 at Increased Risk for Disease, Such as Those with Certain Underlying Medical Conditions

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) unanimously voted in favor of updates to pneumococcal vaccination recommendations for adults 65 years and older, and for adults ages 19 to 64 with certain underlying medical conditions (e.g., chronic conditions such as diabetes, chronic heart disease, chronic lung disease, or chronic liver disease, as well as HIV, an immunocompromising condition) or other disease risk factors (e.g., smoking, alcoholism). In both groups, the ACIP voted to provisionally recommend vaccination either with a sequential regimen of VAXNEUVANCE followed by PNEUMOVAX 23, or with a single dose of 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. These updates would apply to adults who have not previously received a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine or whose previous pneumococcal vaccination history is unknown.

Further details will be available from the CDC. These provisional recommendations will be reviewed by the director of the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services, and final recommendations will become official when published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

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