Every autumn and winter, there are many respiratory pathogens, such as Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and epidemic virus strains. In addition to personal and household hygiene and disinfection, people can also get vaccinated to do a good job of prevention, so which is better for pneumococcal vaccine? Let's move on.
Pneumococcal vaccines are mainly divided into pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines and pneumococcal protein conjugate vaccines. Among them, xx-valent refers to the number of pneumococcal serotypes covered, with polysaccharide vaccines having 23-valent and protein-conjugate vaccines having 13-valent, 15-valent, and 20-valent. The difference between the two lies in the difference in the production process, the polysaccharide vaccine is to use the immunogenicity of bacterial polysaccharides to purify the specific polysaccharides and make a vaccine, so that the inoculated body can produce good immune antibodies. The protein conjugate vaccine combines polysaccharides on a protein carrier, although the process is more complex, but the immune effectiveness of the vaccine has also been improved, and it can also adapt to the vaccinated population with imperfect immune system development.
There are four types in total, so which pneumococcal vaccine is better? For children under 2 years of age, the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is recommended because it is immunogenic in infants and can cause longer-lasting immune memory. For children 2 years of age and older and**, the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine is a cost-effective vaccine that provides broader protection because it covers more serotypes.
If the financial conditions allow and you are over 18 years old, you can choose 20-valent pneumococcal vaccine, in addition, for specific high-risk groups, you can choose 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, which has a good preventive effect on it.
Which is the best pneumococcal vaccine? Each of the four vaccines has its own advantages, and choosing the right one can provide the broadest protection. At the same time, when getting vaccinated, you need to go to a regular hospital to let a professional doctor operate, and pay attention to the care and precautions after vaccination.