Adverse reactions to polyvalent pneumococcal vaccine.

Adverse reactions to the polyvalent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine were evaluated with respect to age of the vaccinees and the route of administration. When either pneumococcal or influenza virus vaccine was administered by subcutaneous injection in a randomized single-blind study to 181 persons aged 60 to 85 years, local reactions were similar: one-third of the vaccinees complained of soreness at the injection site, whereas 90% had some local reaction (erythema, induration or soreness). Only 3/90 recipients of the pneumococcal vaccine and none of those who received the influenza vaccine had a slight rise in temperature (37.4-38.5 degrees C). Most reactions subsided within 2 days. When the pneumococcal vaccine was given to 100 healthy firemen (mean age 31 years), local soreness was more common (76%) than among the old people (p less than 0.001), and fever was significantly more frequent (12%; p less than 0.05). Local soreness lasted somewhat longer after intramuscular (mean 42.5 h) than after subcutaneous (mean 32.5 h, p less than 0.05) injection, whereas local erythema was more common after subcutaneous (80%) than after intramuscular (38%) injection (p less than 0.001). The presence of reactions correlated with a higher concentration of antibodies to the vaccine polysaccharides.