Pneumococcal disease

Key facts

  • Pneumococcal disease can cause inflammation around the brain (meningitis), infection in the lungs (pneumonia), ear infections that can damage babies' hearing, and other serious diseases.

  • Vaccines are the best way to protect your child against pneumococcal disease.

Last updated on 13 December 2024.

On this page

When to vaccinate against pneumococcal disease

It is recommended that you vaccinate your child against pneumococcal disease at:


Share this page

What is pneumococcal disease?

Pneumococcal disease is caused by germs (bacteria) that can cause inflammation around the brain (meningitis), infection in the lungs (pneumonia), ear infections that can damage babies' hearing, and other serious diseases. Babies and children can catch it from each other just like they catch colds.1

What will happen to my child if they catch pneumococcal disease?

Usual symptoms

  • Pneumococcal disease is caused by pneumococcus bacteria (germs) and it can affect a number of different parts of the body. 
  • About 28 to 55 per cent of acute otitis media (middle-ear infection) is caused by pneumococcal disease.

Less common symptoms

  • Pneumococcus can cause meningitis (infection of the brain lining) and pneumonia (lung infection).
  • About 33 to 50 per cent of the people who are treated for pneumonia in hospital have pneumococcal disease.

Rare symptoms

  • About 3 per cent of people who get pneumococcal-meningitis die.
What vaccine will protect my child against pneumococcal disease?

In Australia, children receive a vaccine (13vPCV) that strengthens immunity to 13 strains of the bacteria that causes pneumococcal disease. 

When should my child be vaccinated?

It is recommended that children receive a vaccine that protects against pneumococcal disease at two months, four months and 12 months.

It is important that children get all their vaccinations on time to ensure they have the  best possible protection against infectious diseases.

How does the pneumococcal vaccine work?

The vaccine works by ‘training’ your child’s immune system to recognise and get rid of the pneumococcal bacteria. The vaccine contains antigens, which are tiny, harmless fragments of the outer layer of the pneumococcal bacteria (the bacterial capsule). 

When your immune system detects the antigens in the vaccine, it produces proteins called antibodies. These antibodies are like soldiers that recognise and remember the pneumococcal outer layer. If your child is ever exposed to the real pneumococcal bacteria, their immune system will recognise them quickly and be able to fight them off using antibodies like those it created after vaccination.2

The pneumococcal vaccine does not contain any blood products and is not a ‘live’ vaccine. The antigens are made synthetically and are not the real bacteria. They cannot replicate themselves or cause disease. 

How effective is the vaccine?

Most children (up to 86 per cent) who have their first three doses of the pneumococcal vaccine develop enough infection-fighting cells (antibodies) to protect themselves against severe illness from 13 types (strains) of pneumococcal disease.3 

In Australia, research shows that since pneumococcal vaccines have been included on the National Immunisation Program, there has been a large drop (up to 82 per cent) in invasive pneumococcal disease cases in children under two years of age.4

Will my child catch pneumococcal disease from the vaccine?

No, there is no risk that your child will catch pneumococcal disease because the vaccine does not contain the live bacteria that causes the disease. 

What are the common reactions to the vaccine?
  • About 70 per cent of children who get a pneumococcal vaccine (13vPCV)  are irritable (cranky or unsettled) for a day or two afterwards.
  • About 60 per cent are drowsy or sleep more for a day or two afterwards.
  • About 50 per cent of children get a sore, red spot at the injection site.  
  • About 39 per cent don't eat as well in the days after getting the vaccine.
  • About 37 per cent get a fever and about 5 per cent get a fever higher than 39 degrees in the day or two afterwards.
  • About 33 per cent will get a hard, red lump at the injection site that lasts a few days or weeks.

If your child doesn’t seem to be getting better, or you are worried about them, you can get help from:

  • your doctor
  • your nearest emergency department
  • or by calling Health Direct on 1800 022 222.
Are there any rare and/or serious side effects to the vaccine?

There are no known rare and/or serious side effects to the vaccine.

What impact has vaccination had on the prevalence of pneumococcal disease?

Since pneumococcal vaccines were funded under the National Immunisation Program in 2005, the notification rate of the strains of pneumococcal disease covered by the vaccines have decreased substantially.5,6

Graph: Prevalence of pneumococcal disease

  1. Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI). Australian Immunisation Handbook, Australian Government Department of Health, Canberra, 2018, immunisationhandbook.health.gov.au
  2. Australian Academy of Science. the science of immunisation: Questions and answers. Canberra, 2021. Available from: https://www.science.org.au/education/immunisation-climate-change-genetic-modification/science-immunisation
  3. Gidding HF, McCallum L, Fathima P et al. Effectiveness of a 3 + 0 pneumococcal conjugate vaccine schedule against invasive pneumococcal disease among a birth cohort of 1.4 million children in Australia. Vaccine 2018;36:2650-656
  4. Jayasinghe S, Menzies R, Chiu C et al. Long-term impact of a ‘3 + 0’ schedule for 7- and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines on invasive pneumococcal disease in Australia, 2002–2014. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2017;64:175-83
  5. Chiu C, Dey A, Wang H, et al. Vaccine Preventable Diseases in Australia, 2005 to 2007, Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 34 Supplement December 2010: S1-167
  6. Updated with data from NNDSS Annual Report Writing Group. Australia’s Notifiable Disease Status, 2010: Annual Report of the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 36 March 2012: 36:1-69