Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The vaccine is being given to children in the US
Pfizer’s Prevnar 13 antibiotic vaccine has received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be given to children aged five to 11 to prevent pneumonia.
The vaccine is intended to prevent pneumococcal disease, which is caused by bacteria, and can lead to serious illness and death in young children.
The medicine is one of two authorised by the FDA for pneumococcal pneumonia prevention.
Only one dose of Pfizer’s vaccine is needed for full protection.
The other, AstraZeneca’s TAVR1 vaccine, is only for babies and toddlers up to six months old.
Prevnar 13 is the second pneumococcal vaccine to receive final approval for use in children, with Pfizer’s Pedacys approved by the FDA in June 2017.
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The antibiotic vaccinates against strains of the pneumococcal bacteria responsible for 26 million cases of invasive pneumonia and over 75,000 deaths in the US every year.
Pneumococcal disease is responsible for about 20% of deaths from influenza in children under five, and is the biggest childhood infection causing infection and hospitalisation.
Overall there were 2.4 million cases of invasive pneumonia in the US in 2015, causing about 235,000 emergency department visits and hospitalisations.
Click here to check if you are eligible for the shot.
Read more about Prevnar 13
Find out what flu vaccinations you should be having
BBC Health Check
