Federal Health advisers are giving a thumbs up to a vaccine that would cut down the number of shots kids have to have. The so-called five-in-one vaccine would prevent diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and a bacterial infection that can cause meningitis, pneumonia and arthritis.

The OK means the Food and Drug Administration will likely approve the vaccine, called Pentacel. It would be given in four doses. The advisers also recommended follow-up studies on the vaccine.

The vaccine could eliminate seven of the 23 federally recommended shots children are given through the age of 18 months. Already available in eight other countries, the vaccine was first sold in Canada in 1997.