Young kids should get new Prevnar U.S. experts contend

WASHINGTON Wed Feb 24, 2010 12:11pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Children under the age of 5 who already got four doses of Pfizer Inc"s Prevnar vaccine should get a fifth booster dose of the new version that covers more strains of pneumonia-causing bacteria, the U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices said on Wednesday.

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The committee, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, already recommended that unvaccinated infants get the 13-strain version of the new vaccine, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved just minutes before the committee"s vote.

(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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