Asked by dontillia

What does the number on a pneumococcal vaccine, such as PCV15 or PPSV23, represent?

The year the vaccine was developed (eg, PCV15 for 2015 and PPSV23 for 2023)
The effectiveness of the vaccine for preventing severe pneumococcal disease (eg, PCV15 is 15% effective)
The ranking of effectiveness for inducing antibody production on a 30-point scale
The number of types of pneumococcal bacteria the vaccine protects against

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
The number indicates how many pneumococcal serotypes (types) the vaccine protects against. So PCV15 covers 15 serotypes; PPSV23 covers 23 serotypes — it is not a year, a percent effectiveness, or a ranking.