Vaccine

A bacterial pneumonia vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Monday "will have limited application in this community because the incidence of bacterial pneumonia here is very low," Dr. Sholem Postel, acting director of University Health Services, said yesterday.

The F.D.A. cleared Pneumovax for market early next year. The vaccine has proven in tests to be about 80 per cent effective.

"Large-scale mass immunization will not be recommended, however, and the vaccine will be used for certain restricted groups such as the elderly in nursing homes," Postel said yesterday.

"It is important to note that most types of pneumonia, which is the nation's fifth leading killer, are non-bacterial," Postel added.