 The 7- and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV7 and PCV13) were introduced into the national Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in South Africa in 2009 and 2011, respectively.South Africa became the first African country – and the first nation in the world with a high HIV prevalence – to introduce PCV7 into its routine immunization program.Rates of invasive pneumococcal disease – including cases caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria – have fallen substantially in South Africa following the introduction of PCV7.