Antibody response to pneumococcal vaccine in children aged 5 to 15 years.

The type-specific antibody response of 99 healthy children, aged 5 to 15 years, to a 14-valent pneumococcal vaccine was determined and analyzed according to age at the time of vaccination. The response to the majority of the serotypes, including the important "pediatric" types 6A, 18C, and 19F, appeared to plateau in the 8- to 10-year-old age group, whereas for types 14 and 23F, which are also important in children, the response continued to improve with age to ages 13 to 15 years. The antibody response of a group of 23 children, aged 5 to 15 years, with various hematologic disorders (12 of whom had undergone splenectomy) was also determined and compared with that of the healthy children. For all serotypes the antibody response was similar in the two groups.