At What Age Should You Get A Pneumonia Vaccine

How Long Does A Pneumonia Shot Last

Streptococcus pneumoniaevaccinepneumoniaStreptococcus pneumoniae

• Younger than 2 years old: four shots
• 65 years old or older: two shots, which will last you the rest of your life
• Between 2 and 64 years old: between one and three shots if you have certain immune system disorders or if youre a smoker

What About The Pneumonia Vaccine

Prevnar 13 is a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine that protects against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria.

Pneumovax 23 is a pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine that protects against 23 types of pneumococcal bacteria.

Once vaccinated, most healthy adults develop protection to most or all of these types within two to three weeks.

Children At High Risk Of Ipd

Infants at high risk of IPD due to an underlying medical condition should receive Pneu-C-13 vaccine in a 4 dose schedule at 2 months, 4 months and 6 months followed by a dose at 12 to 15 months of age. Table 3 summarizes the recommended schedules for Pneu-C-13 vaccine for infants and children at high risk of IPD due to an underlying medical condition by pneumococcal conjugate vaccination history.

In addition to Pneu-C-13 vaccine, children at high risk of IPD due to an underlying medical condition should receive 1 dose of Pneu-P-23 vaccine at 24 months of age, at least 8 weeks after Pneu-C-13 vaccine. If an older child or adolescent at high risk of IPD due to an underlying medical condition has not previously received Pneu-P-23 vaccine, 1 dose of Pneu-P-23 vaccine should be administered, at least 8 weeks after Pneu-C-13 vaccine. Children and adolescents at highest risk of IPD should receive 1 booster dose of Pneu-P-23 vaccine refer to Booster doses and re-immunization. Refer to Immunocompromised persons for information about immunization of HSCT recipients.

Table 3: Recommended Schedules for Pneu-C-13 Vaccine for Children 2 months to less than 18 years of age, by Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccination History

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When To Get The Vaccine

Thereâs no such thing as pneumonia season, like flu season. If you and your doctor decide that you need to have a pneumonia vaccine, you can get it done at any time of the year. If itâs flu season, you can even get a pneumonia vaccine at the same time that you get a flu vaccine, as long as you receive each shot in a different arm.

What Are The Symptoms Of Pneumonia

The signs and symptoms of pneumonia can range from mild to severe. The symptoms depend on the type of germ that caused the infection, your age and overall health. Mild signs and symptoms of pneumonia are often similar the symptoms of a cold or flu, but the effects of pneumonia last longer.

Signs and symptoms of pneumonia may include:

• Chest pain when you breathe or cough
• Confusion or changes in mental awareness
• Cough, which may produce phlegm
• Fatigue
• Fever, sweating and shaking chills
• Lower-than-normal body temperature
• Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
• Shortness of breath

Newborns and infants may not show any sign or symptoms of the infection. However, they may vomit, have a fever, cough, be restless or tired, or have difficulty breathing and eating.

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Q: Ive Heard That The Pneumonia Shot Will Help Protect Me Against Getting Sick From Coronavirus Is That True

A: The pneumonia shot can help protect you against getting really sick with other types of viruses, like influenza, but not from the coronavirus, which causes pneumonia all by itself.

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Often times, we see that influenza can lead to secondary infections with other types of bacteria that the pneumonia shot prevents. But because coronavirus is bad enough on its own, the pneumonia shot doesnt offer protection against it.

Still, its important for some people to get the pneumonia shot, regardless of COVID-19. The germs that cause pneumonia are still out there, they arent waiting on the sidelines for coronavirus to finish its job.

The pneumonia shot is recommended for the following groups:

• Allbabies and children younger than 2 years old.
• Alladults 65 years or older.
• Adults19 through 64 years old who smoke cigarettes.
• Childrenolder than 2 and adults younger than 65 who have certain chronic diseases.
• Thosewho are at increased risk for certain diseases and those who have impaired immune systems.

If you fall into one of these categories, talk to your doctor about getting the pneumonia shot to help protect you from getting really sick from other viruses. But when it comes down to it, the pneumonia shot doesnt offer protection specifically against coronavirus.

How Dispatchhealth Is Improving Healthcare

While pneumococcal vaccines can protect at-risk individuals from getting pneumonia and developing extreme complications from other respiratory infections, contraction can still happen. For seniors, in particular, pneumonia can be life threateningespecially in those with chronic conditions . Pneumonia can also occur post infection, developing after the flu or COVID-19making it important for at-risk adults to watch for symptoms.

If you do have symptoms, reach out to DispatchHealth for on-demand services that come to you. We provide an urgent healthcare alternative for those with chronic conditions and acute medical concerns, treating a variety of health complications in the comfort of the home. Our medical teams will come prepared with nearly all the tools and technologies found in a traditional ER setting, but without the disruptive or impersonal medical experience. Whats more, our streamlined service is compatible with most insurancesincluding Medicaid and Medicareand we offer an affordable flat rate for uninsured patients.

This flu season, you can count on DispatchHealth. We can also test for COVID-19 as well as treat and support COVID-19 patients. To request care, simply contact us via phone, mobile app, or through our website.

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Who Should Get Prevnar 13 And Pneumovax 23

Prevnar 13 was developed for infants and children. The CDC recommends that all infants and children younger than 2 years of age get Prevnar 13. Prevnar 13 involves a series of four doses of the vaccine given at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, and sometime between 12 and 15 months of age.

Pneumovax 23 is the vaccine used in adults. It does not work in infants and children under 2 years old.

Most adults do not need a pneumococcal vaccine until they reach the age of 65. Once a person turns 65 years old, the CDC recommends Pneumovax 23.

The same is true for any adult who smokes or has one or more of these chronic illnesses:

• Chronic heart disease

• Chronic lung disease, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

• Diabetes

• Chronic liver disease

When To Get The Vaccine & What To Expect

Of course, before seeking the pneumococcal vaccines, its important to first speak with your primary care physician and other providers in your healthcare network. Both vaccines are safe but can have side effects and should be avoided by individuals with allergic reactions to any of the components in the vaccine. Keep in mind, its recommended that you not receive both vaccines at the same time. Talk to your healthcare provider to determine if both vaccinations are the right choice for your needs. If both vaccines are needed, PCV13 should be given prior to PPSV23. Its important to schedule a separate visitation at least one year after the professionally suggested PCV13 vaccination to receive a dose of the PPSV23 vaccine.

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What Are The Possible Side Effects Of Pcv And Ppsv Vaccines

Kids may have redness, tenderness, or swelling where the shot was given. A child also might have a fever after getting the shot. There is a very small chance of an allergic reaction with any vaccine.

The pneumococcal vaccines contain only a small piece of the germ and so cannot cause pneumococcal disease.

Vaccines Help Maintain Your Health

Vaccines have minimal risks and are generally very safe. Even healthy people need vaccines. Ask your health care provider about these vaccines at your next appointment to determine what is best for your preventative health.

Michelle Twombly, CNP, is a certified nurse practitioner at UH Family Medicine Center in Strongsville.

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Path To Improved Health

Pneumococcal vaccines can protect you against getting pneumonia, which is contagious and spreads from close, person-to-person contact. Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs and can lead to many symptoms, including:

• cough
• chest pains
• bringing up mucus when you cough

For seniors, pneumonia can be very serious and life-threatening. This is especially true if you have a chronic condition, such as diabetes or COPD. Pneumonia can also develop after youve had a case of the flu or a respiratory virus such as COVID-19. It is extremely important to stay current on flu shots each year in addition to your pneumococcal vaccines.

While PPSV23 and PCV13 do not protect against all types of pneumonia, they can make it less likely that you will experience severe and possibly life-threatening complications from the illness.

The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends that seniors who have not had either pneumococcal vaccine should get a dose of PCV13 first, and then a dose of PPSV23 6-12 months later. The vaccines cannot be given at the same time. If you have recently had a dose of PPSV23, your doctor will wait at least one year to give you PCV13.

Who Should Get The Vaccine

People over age 65. As you age, your immune system doesnât work as well as it once did. Youâre more likely to have trouble fighting off a pneumonia infection. All adults over age 65 should get the vaccine.

Those with weakened immune systems. Many diseases can cause your immune system to weaken, so itâs less able to fight off bugs like pneumonia.

If you have heart disease, diabetes, emphysema, asthma, or COPD , youâre more likely to have a weakened immune system, which makes you more likely to get pneumonia.

The same goes for people who receive chemotherapy, people who have had organ transplants, and people with HIV or AIDS.

People who smoke. If youâve smoked for a long time, you could have damage to the small hairs that line the insides of your lungs and help filter out germs. When theyâre damaged, they arenât as good at stopping those bad germs.

Heavy drinkers. If you drink too much alcohol, you may have a weakened immune system. Your white blood cells donât work as well as they do for people with a healthy immune system.

People getting over surgery or a severe illness. If you were in the hospital ICU and needed help breathing with a ventilator, youâre at risk of getting pneumonia. The same is true if youâve just had major surgery or if youâre healing from a serious injury. When your immune system is weak because of illness or injury or because itâs helping you get better from surgery, you canât fight off germs as well as you normally can.

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Tdap Vaccine And/or The Td Booster

Who needs it: The Tdap vaccine came out in 2005, and along with protecting against tetanus and diphtheria, like the vaccine it replaced, it also includes new, additional protection against whooping cough, also known as pertussis. If you cant remember ever getting this shot, you probably need it. And doing so, says Katz, can also count for one of the Td boosters youre supposed to get every 10 years.

How often: You get Tdap only once, and after that, you still need the Td booster every 10 years. Otherwise, your protection against tetanus and diphtheria will fade.

Why you need it: Due to a rise in whooping cough cases in the U.S., you really do need to be vaccinated against it, even if youre over 65. In the first year after getting vaccinated, Tdap prevents the illness in about 7 out of 10 people who received the vaccine.

Talk to your doctor if you: Have epilepsy or other nervous system problems, had severe swelling or pain after a previous dose of either vaccine, or have Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Parting shot: This vaccine is especially crucial for people who have close contact with infants younger than 12 months of age including parents, grandparents, and child care providers.

Side Effects Of The Pneumococcal Vaccine

Like most vaccines, the childhood and adult versions of the pneumococcal vaccine can sometimes cause mild side effects.

These include:

• redness where the injection was given
• hardness or swelling where the injection was given

There are no serious side effects listed for either the childhood or adult versions of the vaccine, apart from an extremely rare risk of a severe allergic reaction .

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Booster Doses Of Pneumococcal Vaccine

If you’re at increased risk of a pneumococcal infection, you’ll be given a single dose of the PPV vaccine.

But if your spleen does not work properly or you have a chronic kidney condition, you may need booster doses of PPV every 5 years.

This is because your levels of antibodies against the infection decrease over time.

Your GP surgery will advise you on whether you’ll need a booster dose.

Should You Get A Pneumonia Vaccination

Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stoppler, MD Medical Editor: William C. Shiel, Jr, MD, FACP, FACR

The term pneumonia refers to any infection of the lung. The “pneumoniavaccine” is given to prevent one specific type of pneumonia–the pneumonia caused by the Pneumococcus bacterium. Pneumonia caused by Pneumococcus is the most common form of infection occurring outside of a hospital or institutional setting in the U.S. Pneumococcusinfection is responsible for over 6,000 deaths per year in the U.S.– the highest number for any vaccine-preventable disease. A serious complication of pneumonia, pneumococcal meningitis, is associated with a particularly high fatality rate.

Certain groups of people are considered to be at particularly high risk for the development of pneumonia, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend vaccination for these groups. Those recommended groups include:

• People age 65 or older
• People over age two years of age who have problems with their lungs, heart, liver, or kidneys

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Are You 65 Or Older Get Two Vaccinations Against Pneumonia

• By Gregory Curfman, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Former Editor-in-Chief, Harvard Health Publishing

ARCHIVED CONTENT: As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date each article was posted or last reviewed. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

If you or a loved one is age 65 or older, getting vaccinated against pneumonia is a good idea so good that the Centers for Disease Control now recommends that everyone in this age group get vaccinated against pneumonia twice.

This new recommendation is based on findings from a large clinical trial called CAPiTA, which were published today in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Streptococcus pneumoniae, sometimes just called pneumococcus, is a common bacterium that can cause serious lung infections like pneumonia. It can also cause invasive infections of the bloodstream, the tissues covering the brain and spinal cord , and other organs and tissues. Older individuals are especially prone to being infected by Pneumococcus, and these infections are often deadly.

The dark spots are pneumonia-causing Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria isolated from the blood of an infected person.

One caveat is that while PCV13 is effective in preventing pneumonia caused by S. pneumoniae, it does not prevent pneumonia caused by viruses or other bacteria.

Who Needs Vaccination

Pneumonia vaccination is not recommended for everyone. The vaccines are primarily used in persons who are at increased risk of serious illness. These include:

• Infants and children as part of their routine vaccination schedule
• Persons over the age of 65
• Persons with compromised or weakened immune systems, including those with chronic illness such as HIV, heart disease, liver disease, kidney failure, and diabetes
• Organ transplant recipients and person undergoing chemotherapy, both of whom have weakened immune systems and exposure to immune suppressive drugs
• Persons with chronic respiratory illnesses such as asthma, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 
• Persons who smoke or are heavy drinkers
• Persons recovering from surgery or a serious illness

Vaccination is currently not recommended for persons between 18 and 64 who are healthy. The same applies to anyone who has had a prior allergic reaction to the vaccine or has a known allergy to any of the components of the vaccine.

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When To See A Doctor

A person who is over 65 years of age should talk to their doctor about which pneumonia vaccine may be best for them. The doctor can help determine whether they should get the vaccination, which vaccination to get, and when to get it.

Parents and caregivers of young children should talk to a pediatrician about the schedule for the pneumonia vaccination. The pediatrician can also address any questions or concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccination.

A person does not need to see a doctor for mild reactions to the vaccine, such as tenderness at the injection site, fever, or fatigue.

However, if a person experiences any life threatening side effects, they should seek emergency help immediately.

Signs and symptoms of allergic reactions in children may include:

• respiratory distress, such as wheezing