PCV20 Vaccine & Parker’s Legacy

Parker’s infection was from a bacteria called Streptococcus Pneumoniae, a species with more than 100 known serotypes. To combat the bacteria, all infants are given a pneumococcal vaccine (PCV13) that fights against 13 of the most common serotypes. Parker suffered from an extremely rare serotype (15B) not included in PCV13.

On April 27, 2023, 4 days after Parker’s death, the FDA fast-tracked and approved the PVC20 vaccine, which includes the 15B serotype, for infants and children. Historically, the effectiveness of these pneumococcal vaccines at preventing invasive diseases has been measured at 86-96%.

Today, when new babies go in for their first round of shots and are recommended PCV20, in some small way it becomes part of Parker’s legacy. New parents don’t have the bandwidth to think about serotypes, but parents everywhere should have more peace of mind that this extremely brutal disease will now be even more extremely rare.

Read more about Parker’s serotype here and the PCV20 vaccine here.