At a cost of about C$14 million per year, the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine will become part of Alberta's standard infant immunization program this fall, making it the first Canadian province to do so. "We thought it very important--[pneumococcal disease] can be a very serious illness," noted Dr. Karen Grimsrud, the acting provincial health officer for Alberta Health and Wellness. She said that approximately a third of children who contract pneumococcal disease will experience hearing damage, while 25 percent will have brain damage.