Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the importance of the 23-Valent Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (PPSV23) in the prevention of pneumococcal diseases in Brazil. Bibliografic review: Streptococcus pnemoniae causes infection and mainly affects children, people over 65 years of age, immunocompromised and chronically ill. From this perspective, diseases related to S. pnemoniae are a significant problem for general public health, in addition, the exacerbated increase in the number of antibiotic-resistant strains accentuates the impasse. In Brazil, pneumonia stands out as the second leading cause of death. Mortality from pneumonia is higher at the extremes of age, reaching 8.4% in children under 5 years of age and 61% in individuals aged 70 years and over. It is important to note that PPSV23 is considered a cost-effective vaccine. Final considerations: The use of the PPSV23 vaccine, in the study, demonstrated the ability to contain the growing impact of the disease, and also to reduce antibiotic resistance, preventing the emergence of resistant strains, due to the low use of these antibiotics. Finally, more studies of this nature are needed, so that information can be gathered and associated, in order to better understand the impacts that vaccination against pneumococcal diseases can bring to society.