Physicians' early challenges related to the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

Objective. - To characterize the obstacles faced by physicians regarding administration of a 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevnar) to all children younger than 2 years and to high-risk children from 2-5 years of age during the months immediately following national recommendations. Design. - Semistructured telephone interviews. Participants. - Convenience sample (n = 24) of pediatricians and family physicians. Results. - Eighteen physicians were recommending pneumococcal vaccine and 6 were not. Those who were recommending pneumococcal vaccine had encountered resistance from parents and variations in private and public insurance coverage. Physicians who were not recommending pneumococcal vaccine expressed concern about the cost of the vaccine and general caution in adopting new vaccine recommendations. Respondents offered several suggestions for improving the vaccine recommendation process. Conclusions. - This analysis of physicians' early decision making regarding pneumococcal vaccine reflects obstacles to vaccine implementation that may arise with the introduction of other childhood vaccines.