Continuing coverage: The advent of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine may have caused a significant drop in cases of otitis media, also known as ear infection, according to a study recently published in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers with UTMB conducted an 11-year study to examine the trends in otitis media-related healthcare use since the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was introduced in 2000. The researchers found a downward trend in otitis media-related visits from 2004 to 2011, with a significant drop in children younger than two years after the pneumococcal conjugate 13-valent vaccine was introduced in 2010.