The Food and Drug Administration has now granted Prevnar 13, an expanded version of a vaccine that protects against seven main strains of Streptococcus pneumonia, which not only produce pneumonia but also can attack the blood, middle ear and the covering of the brain and spinal cord.

There is a huge threat of a virulent subtype called strain 19A these days. Prevnar 13 has been particularly identified to curb this new disease.

Alike Prevnar 7, Prevnar 13 has been approved only for children, as of now.

Pfizer is pursuing the testing of the vaccine on adults and old people. It may recommend FDA to approve its usage for the adults, by the end of this year.

“Approval for adult use would open up essentially hundreds of millions of additional patients who could benefit from the vaccine. Pfizer has estimated it could add $1.5 billion in sales”, said Mr. Germano of the Specialty Care Unit.

Prevnar 13 would soon be available in the market. Its safety was ensured by testing it on 5,084 infants and children.

It is governed in four doses, given at ages 12 to 15 months and 2, 4 and 6 years. It is also available in single-dose.