"[20] The most common side effects in children are decreased appetite, fever (only very common in children aged six weeks to five years), irritability, reactions at the site of injection (reddening or hardening of the skin, swelling, pain or tenderness), somnolence (sleepiness) and poor quality sleep.

[13][20] Capvaxive is a pneumococcal 21-valent conjugate vaccine (PVC21) manufactured by Merck and was approved for medical use in the United States in June 2024.

[30][32] After waiting for the outcome of a trial underway in the Netherlands, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the vaccine for adults over age 65 in August 2014.

The formulation resulted in a 98% probability of protection against the constituent strains, which caused 80% of the pneumococcal disease in infants in the U.S. PCV7 is no longer produced.

[37] In the Prevnar vaccines, the bacterial cell capsule sugars, a characteristic of these pathogens, are linked (conjugated) through reductive amination to CRM197, a nontoxic recombinant variant of diphtheria toxin.

CRM197 is derived from the C7 strain of Corynebacterium diphtheriae grown in a medium of casamino acids and yeast extracts.

[20][38] Bacteria bearing the vaccine's polysaccharide sugars are grown separately in soy peptone broths.

[40][14] Vaxneuvance is a pneumococcal 15-valent conjugate vaccine created by Merck that was approved for medical use in the United States in July 2021.

"[43] Vaxneuvance is indicated for the active immunization for the prevention of invasive disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, 22F, 23F and 33F in adults 18 years of age and older.

[45] The applicant for this medicinal product is Merck Sharp & Dohme B.V.[45] Vaxneuvance was approved for medical use in the European Union in December 2021.

[15][16] As with all immunizations, whether it is available or required, and under what circumstances, varies according to the decisions made by local public health agencies.

[48] Children at special risk (e.g., sickle cell disease and asplenia) require as full protection as can be achieved using the conjugated vaccine, with the more extensive polysaccharide vaccine given after the second year of life:[48] In 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), upon advice from its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), recommended the vaccine be administered to every infant and young child in the United States.

[62] In clinical trials, fever greater than 100.4 F (38 C) was reported at a rate of 24–35% following any dose in the primary series and nonspecific symptoms such as decreased appetite or irritability occur in up to 80% of recipients.

[56][64] Pneumococcal disease is the leading vaccine-preventable killer of young children worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

[66] Pneumococcal vaccines Accelerated Development and Introduction Plan (PneumoADIP) was a GAVI Alliance (GAVI) funded project to accelerate the introduction of pneumococcal vaccinations into low-income countries through partnerships between countries, donors, academia, international organizations and industry.

GAVI continues this work and as of March 2013, 25 GAVI-eligible and supported countries have introduced the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.