Merck (NYSE: MRK) announced that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has unanimously voted to recommend MRK's newly approved 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) Capvaxive. The FDA approved Capvaxive earlier this month for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumococcal pneumonia in adults. Capvaxive became the first PCV specifically designed for adults to be approved by the FDA. Capvaxive targets serotypes that account for approximately 84% of all invasive pneumococcal disease in older adults (50 years and older) in the United States, including eight serotypes not covered by currently licensed vaccines. The ACIP recommends a single dose of Capvaxive for three distinct patient populations, the first being adults aged 65 years and older who have never received a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine or whose vaccination history is unknown. The second eligible patient population includes adults aged 19-64 years with certain underlying medical conditions or risk factors who have not previously received a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine or whose vaccination history is unknown. The final patient population for whom ACIP recommends Merck's Capvaxive are adults aged 19 years and older who have begun their pneumococcal vaccine series with 13-valent PCV ...