Take every opportunity to speak with appropriate adult patients about pneumococcal vaccination

Pharmacy Engagement Opportunities

Based on IQVIA LifelinkTM Data from 2019-2021, patients aged 45 years and older visited their pharmacists more frequently than their physicians.6

They had an encountera with a primary care physician’s office ~3 times a year and had an encounterb with a pharmacy 13-14 times a year.

  1. aIncludes telehealth and/or in person.
  2. bPicked up a prescription or received a vaccine in person at the pharmacy counter, or used pharmacy drive through window, or home delivery.

Your Recommendation Matters

Consider 3 key phrases to provide a clear vaccination recommendation based on the patient’s medical and pneumococcal vaccination history:

  1. “Pneumococcal disease can be serious.”
    1. Help patients understand that pneumococcal disease is caused by certain types of bacteria and includes pneumococcal infections of the lung, blood, and coverings of the brain and spinal cord.7
  2. “PNEUMOVAX 23 can help protect against 23 serotypes of pneumococcal bacteria that cause pneumococcal disease.”
    1. Explain that PNEUMOVAX 23 contains 23 different pneumococcal serotypes which help protect against invasive pneumococcal disease, a serious disease that includes an infection of the lungs, of the blood, or of the brain and spinal cord.7
  3. “I recommend you get this vaccine.”8
    1. Your patients trust you as a health care provider—tell appropriate patients why you recommend this vaccination.
ref1

Reference

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Bact facts interactive beta v8.2. Updated October 13, 2022. Accessed March 6, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/abcs/bact-facts-interactive-dashboard.html
ref6

Reference

  1. Data available on request from Merck, Professional Services-DAP, WP1-27, PO Box 4, West Point, PA 19486-0004. Please specify information package US-PVC-01153.
ref7

Reference

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Pneumococcal disease. Last reviewed August 18, 2021. Accessed March 1, 2023. www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/pneumo.html
ref8

Reference

  1. Gierke R, Wodi AP, Kobayashi M. Pneumococcal Disease. In: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Disease (Pink Book). 13th edition. Updated August 19, 2021. Accessed February 13, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/pneumo.html
ref8-new

Reference

  1. NACDS. Pharmacies-The Face of Neighborhood Healthcare Since Well Before the Pandemic. Published June 2022. Accessed March 23, 2023
    https://www.nacds.org/community-spotlight
ref19

Reference

  1. Data available on request from Merck, Professional Services-DAP, WP1-27, PO Box 4, West Point, PA 19486-0004. Please specify information package US-PNX-00608.
ref20

Reference

  1. Data available on request from Merck, Professional Services-DAP, WP1-27, PO Box 4, West Point, PA 19486-0004. Please specify information package US-PNX-01908.

Indication for PNEUMOVAX 23

PNEUMOVAX®23 (Pneumococcal Vaccine Polyvalent) is a vaccine indicated for active immunization for the prevention of pneumococcal disease caused by the 23 serotypes contained in the vaccine (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6B, 7F, 8, 9N, 9V, 10A, 11A, 12F, 14, 15B, 17F, 18C, 19F, 19A, 20, 22F, 23F, and 33F).

PNEUMOVAX 23 is approved for use in persons 50 years of age or older and persons aged ≥2 years who are at increased risk for pneumococcal disease.

PNEUMOVAX 23 will not prevent disease caused by capsular types of pneumococcus other than those contained in the vaccine.

Select Safety Information for PNEUMOVAX 23

Do not administer PNEUMOVAX®23 (Pneumococcal Vaccine Polyvalent) to individuals with a history of a hypersensitivity reaction to any component of the vaccine.

Defer vaccination with PNEUMOVAX 23 in persons with moderate or severe acute illness.

Use caution and appropriate care in administering PNEUMOVAX 23 to individuals with severely compromised cardiovascular and/or pulmonary function in whom a systemic reaction would pose a significant risk.

Available human data from clinical trials of PNEUMOVAX 23 in pregnancy have not established the presence or absence of a vaccine-associated risk.

Since elderly individuals may not tolerate medical interventions as well as younger individuals, a higher frequency and/or a greater severity of reactions in some older individuals cannot be ruled out.

Persons who are immunocompromised, including persons receiving immunosuppressive therapy, may have a diminished immune response to PNEUMOVAX 23.

PNEUMOVAX 23 may not be effective in preventing pneumococcal meningitis in patients who have chronic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage resulting from congenital lesions, skull fractures, or neurosurgical procedures.

The most common adverse reactions, reported in >10% of subjects vaccinated with PNEUMOVAX 23 for the first time in a clinical trial, were: injection-site pain/soreness/tenderness, injection-site swelling/induration, headache, injection-site erythema, asthenia and fatigue, and myalgia.

For subjects aged 65 years or older in a clinical study, systemic adverse reactions which were determined by the investigator to be vaccine-related were higher following revaccination than following initial vaccination.

Vaccination with PNEUMOVAX 23 may not offer 100% protection from pneumococcal infection.

Before administering PNEUMOVAX 23, please read the accompanying Prescribing Information. The  Patient Information also is available.

 

Indication for PNEUMOVAX 23

PNEUMOVAX®23 (Pneumococcal Vaccine Polyvalent) is a vaccine indicated for active immunization for the prevention of pneumococcal disease caused by the 23 serotypes contained in the vaccine (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6B, 7F, 8, 9N, 9V, 10A, 11A, 12F, 14, 15B, 17F, 18C, 19F, 19A, 20, 22F, 23F, and 33F).

PNEUMOVAX 23 is approved for use in persons 50 years of age or older and persons aged ≥2 years who are at increased risk for pneumococcal disease.

PNEUMOVAX 23 will not prevent disease caused by capsular types of pneumococcus other than those contained in the vaccine.

PNEUMOVAX 23 is a vaccine indicated for active immunization for the prevention of pneumococcal

PNEUMOVAX 23 is a vaccine indicated for active immunization for the prevention of pneumococcal disease caused by the 23 serotypes contained in the vaccine (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6B, 7F, 8, 9N, 9V, 10A, 11A, 12F, 14, 15B, 17F, 18C, 19F, 19A, 20, 22F, 23F, and 33F).

Select Safety Information for PNEUMOVAX 23

Do not administer PNEUMOVAX®23 (Pneumococcal Vaccine Polyvalent) to individuals with a history of a hypersensitivity reaction to any component of the vaccine.

Defer vaccination with PNEUMOVAX 23 in persons with moderate or severe acute illness.

Use caution and appropriate care in administering PNEUMOVAX 23 to individuals with severely compromised cardiovascular and/or pulmonary function in whom a systemic reaction would pose a significant risk.

Available human data from clinical trials of PNEUMOVAX 23 in pregnancy have not established the presence or absence of a vaccine-associated risk.

Since elderly individuals may not tolerate medical interventions as well as younger individuals, a higher frequency and/or a greater severity of reactions in some older individuals cannot be ruled out.

Persons who are immunocompromised, including persons receiving immunosuppressive therapy, may have a diminished immune response to PNEUMOVAX 23.

PNEUMOVAX 23 may not be effective in preventing pneumococcal meningitis in patients who have chronic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage resulting from congenital lesions, skull fractures, or neurosurgical procedures.

The most common adverse reactions, reported in >10% of subjects vaccinated with PNEUMOVAX 23 for the first time in a clinical trial, were: injection-site pain/soreness/tenderness, injection-site swelling/induration, headache, injection-site erythema, asthenia and fatigue, and myalgia.

For subjects aged 65 years or older in a clinical study, systemic adverse reactions which were determined by the investigator to be vaccine-related were higher following revaccination than following initial vaccination.

Vaccination with PNEUMOVAX 23 may not offer 100% protection from pneumococcal infection.

Before administering PNEUMOVAX 23, please read the accompanying Prescribing Information. The  Patient Information also is available.

 

Do not administer PNEUMOVAX 23 to individuals with a history of a hypersensitivity reaction to any

Do not administer PNEUMOVAX 23 to individuals with a history of a hypersensitivity reaction to any component of the vaccine.

Defer vaccination with PNEUMOVAX 23 in persons with moderate or severe acute illness.

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US-PNX-02345 03/23