This page is intended as reference information for the general public in Northern Ireland.
What is Prevenar 20 and what is it used for?
Prevenar 20 is a pneumococcal vaccine given to:
Children from 6 weeks to less than 18 years of age to help prevent diseases such as meningitis (inflammation around the brain), sepsis or bacteraemia (bacteria in the blood stream), pneumonia (lung infection) and acute otitis media (ear infections) caused by 20 types of the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Individuals aged 18 years and older to help prevent disease such as: pneumonia (lung infection), sepsis or bacteraemia (bacteria in the blood stream) and meningitis (inflammation around the brain) caused by 20 types of the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Prevenar 20 provides protection against 20 types of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria.
The vaccine works by helping the body to make its own antibodies, which protect you or your child against these diseases.
As with any vaccine, Prevenar 20 will not protect all persons who are vaccinated. Prevenar 20 can only be obtained with a prescription.
Reference Information
Medicines in Northern Ireland fall under the remit of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) whilst medicines in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) fall under the remit of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) following the UK leaving the European Union. These agencies are responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines developed by pharmaceutical companies.
If you would like to see the Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) or Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) for Prevenar 20 these can be found at the electronic Medicines Compendium (eMC) Northern Ireland.
▼ This medicine is subject to additional monitoring. This will allow quick identification of new safety information.
If you get any side effects when taking this or any other medicine, talk to your doctor or other relevant health professional e.g. pharmacist, nurse. This includes any possible side effects not listed in the packaging leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk or search the Google Play or Apple App Store for MHRA Yellow Card. By reporting side effects, you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.
Pfizer is unable to provide advice on personal medical matters. Please consult your doctor or other relevant health professional for specific, health-related advice and support.