From June 15th, the Pneumo 20 vaccine will begin to be offered free of charge by the Unified Health System (SUS).
New vaccination schedule and replacement of previous vaccines
The immunizer protects against 20 serotypes of the bacteriaStreptococcus pneumoniae. The agent causes ear inflammation, sinusitis, bacterial pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis.
Until then, the public network offered Pneumo 10. Now, the new formulation, which protects against twice as many serotypes, will significantly expand coverage against variants of the bacteria, reducing the development of serious infections.
Pneumo 20 has been available on the private network since 2025. However, each dose costs between R$500 and R$600. With its incorporation into the SUS, the vaccine is now offered free of charge to the population.
Priority groups include children under 5 years old, indigenous people over 5 years old, elderly people over 60 years old who are bedridden and/or institutionalized and people with special clinical conditions treated at the Reference Centers for Special Immunobiologicals (CRIE).
The distribution of the first 514,000 doses has already begun, and the expectation is that more than 6 million doses will be made available throughout 2026. The Ministry of Health reported that vaccination will begin as states receive the vaccines and complete distribution to municipalities.
The main goal is to prevent pneumococcal disease. Between 2023 and 2025, Brazil recorded 4,600 cases of pneumococcal meningitis and 1,400 deaths related to the disease.
In addition to reducing incidence and mortality, large-scale vaccination should generate savings for the SUS. With prevention, the expectation is to reduce the number of hospitalizations, treatments in Intensive Care Units (ICUs), in addition to the costs of sequelae and rehabilitation processes.