How Long Is Pneumonia Shot Last

Pneumonia Vaccine Side Effects

Most people who get a pneumococcal vaccine do not experience many side effects. While theres always a chance of side effects for any medication, the pneumonia vaccine side effects are usually mild and go away on their own after a few days, with serious reactions being rare.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccineMild problems following pneumococcal conjugate vaccination can include:

• Reactions at the injection site
• Redness

How Much Do Pneumovax 23 And Prevnar 13 Cost

Pneumovax 23 and Prevnar 13 can be quite expensive without insurance. One dose of Pneumovax 23 currently costs around $135 cash price, while one dose of Prevnar 13 costs around $250 cash price. With a GoodRx coupon, you might be able to reduce your cost for these to around $90 and $195, respectively. Read here for information on how to use a GoodRx coupon for vaccines.

All health insurance marketplace plans under the Affordable Care Act, and most other private insurance plans, must cover pneumococcal vaccines without charging a copayment or coinsurance when an in-network provider administers the vaccine even if you have not met a yearly deductible. Medicare does not cover either vaccine.

Remember: The recommendations for who should get a pneumonia vaccination are based on risk factors and age, so be sure to talk to your doctor if you think you might need one. You should be able to receive both Pneumovax 23 and Prevnar 13 at your local pharmacy. Depending on which state you live in, these vaccines may not require a prescription. Be sure to reach out to your pharmacist for more information. The CDC has more information about these vaccinations here.

What To Expect By Age And Health

Here is how age can affect your recovery from pneumonia:

• Infants under the age of 6 months are typically hospitalized for pneumonia out of an abundance of caution.
• Children over the age of 6 months are more likely to be treated at home, provided they are typically healthy.
• Older adults may take longer to bounce back from pneumonia since our immune system naturally weakens the older we get, especially if you have a preexisting health condition. Its also more common for the elderly and chronically ill to be hospitalized for pneumonia since the rate of complications and mortality increases for those over the age of 65.

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Your Good Health: Shot For Pneumonia Leads To Pain In Arm

Dear Dr. Roach: I have a badly torn rotator cuff on my left shoulder, so that arm is basically a constant problem. In January 2017, my physician suggested that I would benefit from the pneumonia vaccine and that it would take two applications, one year apart, to complete. I agreed to have the vaccine, which was administered into my upper left arm. Ever since then, I have had pain in the muscle area and at times do not have use of that arm. I have talked with the nurse, the physician assistant and also with my orthopedic doctor about this problem. They all have given me blank looks and no answer to the situation. Do you have any suggestion or remedies for this? Should I have the second injection?

M.P.

I think the problem is the torn rotator cuff, and that it was exacerbated by your reaction to the vaccine.

The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles that keep the arm in place in the shoulder during movement of the arm. If the rotator cuff is damaged, either by inflammation or from a mechanical tear, the arm will not move normally. Complications, including a frozen shoulder, are common.

I suspect that the temporary sore arm from a vaccine immobilized your arm long enough that you developed further inflammation in the shoulder.

Dear Dr. Roach: I wanted to know about the risk of cervical cancer with a partner who has HPV or herpes. Also, is there a correlation between either of these infections and cancer of the uterus?

Anon.

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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In People Who Are Pregnant

The Tdap vaccination is recommended for anyone who is pregnant. This shot gives your unborn baby a head start on protection against pertussis .

If you didnt get the Td or Tdap shot in the last 10 years, the shot may provide your unborn baby with protection from tetanus. It also reduces your risk of diphtheria. These conditions can be deadly to newborns.

The Tdap vaccine is safe during pregnancy.

For optimal immunity, the CDC generally recommends receiving the shot between , but its safe to receive at any point in your pregnancy.

If you dont know if youve been vaccinated, you may need a series of shots.

Who Should Not Get Pneumovax 23 Or Prevnar 13

Children younger than 2 years of age should not get Pneumovax 23. In addition, while there is no evidence that Pneumovax 23 is harmful to pregnant women or their babies, as a precaution, women who need Pneumovax 23 should get it before becoming pregnant, if possible.

Before you get either Prevnar 13 or Pneumovax 23, tell your health provider if you have had any life-threatening allergic reaction to or have a severe allergy to pneumococcal vaccines or any vaccine containing diphtheria toxoid . Also, tell your health provider if you are not feeling well. If you have a minor illness like a cold, you can probably still get vaccinated, but if you have a more serious illness, you should probably wait until you recover.

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Pfizer Study Shows Covid

A nurses fills up syringes for patients as they receive their coronavirus disease booster vaccination during a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination clinic in Southfield, Michigan, U.S., September 29, 2021. REUTERS/Emily Elconin

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Jan 12 – Pfizer Inc said on Wednesday booster doses of its COVID-19 vaccine can be administered along with its pneumonia vaccine and produced strong safety and immune responses in people aged 65 and above in a late-stage study.

The study, initiated in May, tested the company’s next-generation pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, PREVNAR 20, with a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shot in 570 participants.

The aim of the study was to test the safety of the combination and the immune response after adding the pneumonia vaccine to the existing COVID-19 vaccine.

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The company said responses elicited by PREVNAR 20 and booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine were similar when given together or with placebo.

The data provides evidence supporting the potential to administer PREVNAR 20 and the company’s COVID-19 vaccine at the same time, reducing the number of visits people make to doctors or pharmacies for recommended immunization, Pfizer said.

PREVNAR 20 was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June last year to help protect adults against most invasive pneumococcal diseases and pneumonia.

Available Vaccines And Vaccination Campaigns

A pneumococcal vaccine that protected against 14 different strains was licensed in 1977, and expanded to protect against 23 strains in 1983. This vaccine is a polysaccharide vaccine called PPSV23 . However, it is most effective in adults, and does not consistently generate immunity in children younger than two years old. A separate vaccine for children called PCV7 was licensed in 2000. PCV7 is a conjugate vaccine it was expanded to include protection against 13 strains in 2010, and renamed PCV13 . PCV13 protects against the bacterial strains responsible for the most severe childhood pneumococcal infections.

PCV7 was added to the recommended childhood vaccination schedule in 2000 . Since the initial recommendation, invasive pneumococcal disease in children has dropped by nearly 80% in the United States.

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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.

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.

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What Are The Most Common Side Effects Of Pneumovax 23 And Prevnar 13

Side effects with pneumococcal vaccines are usually mild and go away on their own within a few days.

Common side effects of Prevnar 13 include:

• Injection site pain

• Fever

Common side effects of Pneumovax 23 include:

• Injection site pain

• Fever

• Muscle aches

• Fatigue

Be sure to talk with your doctor if you experience any of these symptoms for a prolonged period of time.

Cough And Cold Medicines

Be careful with cough and cold medicines. They may not be safe for young children or for people who have certain health problems, so check the label first. If you do use these medicines, always follow the directions about how much to use based on age and weight.

Always check to see if any over-the-counter cough or cold medicines you are taking contain acetaminophen. If they do, make sure the acetaminophen you are taking in your cold medicine plus any other acetaminophen you may be taking is not higher than the daily recommended dose. Ask your doctor or pharmacist how much you can take every day.

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How Do You Get Pneumonia

You may get pneumonia:

• After you breathe infected air particles into your lungs.
• After you breathe certain bacteria from your nose and throat into your lungs.
• During or after a viral upper respiratory infection, such as a cold or influenza .
• As a complication of a viral illness, such as measles or chickenpox.
• If you breathe large amounts of food, gastric juices from the stomach, or vomit into the lungs . This can happen when you have had a medical condition that affects your ability to swallow, such as a seizure or a stroke.

A healthy person’s nose and throat often contain bacteria or viruses that cause pneumonia. Pneumonia can develop when these organisms spread to your lungs while your lungs are more likely to be infected. Examples of times when this can happen are during or soon after a cold or if you have a long-term illness, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease .

You can get pneumonia in your daily life, such as at school or work or when you are in a hospital or nursing home . Treatment may differ in healthcare-associated pneumonia, because bacteria causing the infection in hospitals may be different from those causing it in the community. This topic focuses on community-associated pneumonia.

How Can You Prevent Pneumonia

Experts recommend immunization for children and adults. Children get the pneumococcal vaccine as part of their routine shots. If you are 65 or older or you have a long-term health problem, it’s a good idea to get a pneumococcal vaccine. It may not keep you from getting pneumonia. But if you do get pneumonia, you probably won’t be as sick. You can also get an influenza vaccine to prevent the flu, because sometimes people get pneumonia after having the flu.

You can also lower your chances of getting pneumonia by staying away from people who have the flu, respiratory symptoms, or chickenpox. You may get pneumonia after you have one of these illnesses. Wash your hands often. This helps prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria that may cause pneumonia.

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How Often Do I Need To Get The Pneumonia Vaccine

The pneumonia vaccine also known as the pneumococcal vaccine offers protection against several strains of bacteria that can cause pneumonia. There are two types of the vaccine, one of which is specifically designed for adults over the age of 65 and anyone particularly high-risk because of a long-term health condition. The other vaccine Prevnar 13 is available in our stores for adults aged 18 and over.*

Most adults getting the pneumonia vaccine will only need to get it once. Others who are high risk may need to get booster jabs every few years.

If youve never had the pneumonia vaccine, and you think you could benefit, you should check to see if youre eligible for it on the NHS. If not, you can book yours with us and have it in your local LloydsPharmacy.

What Increases Your Risk

You are more likely to get pneumonia if you:

• Smoke. Cigarette smoking is a strong risk factor for pneumonia in healthy young people.
• Have another medical condition, especially lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma.
• Are younger than 1 year of age or older than 65.
• Have an impaired immune system.
• Take medicine called a proton pump inhibitor that reduces the amount of stomach acid.footnote 3, footnote 4
• Drink excessive amounts of alcohol.
• Recently had a cold or the flu.

You are more likely to have complications of pneumonia and need to go to the hospital if you:

• Are older than 65.
• Have some other illness , or have gone to the hospital for a medical problem within the last 3 months.
• Have had your spleen removed or do not have a working spleen .
• Have an alcohol use problem.
• Have a weak immune system.
• Reside in a place where people live close together, such as a university dorm or nursing home.

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What About Pneumonia

It can happen when the flu virus enters your lung or when you get a bacterial infection during the course of the illness. Pneumonia can make you quite ill and may send you to the hospital.

It can cause chills, fever, chest pains, and sweating. You might have a cough with green or bloody mucus. You could notice a faster pulse, and your lips or nails might have a bluish tint because of a lack of oxygen. Other symptoms include shortness of breath and sharp pains in your chest when you take a deep breath. Seniors may only notice a pain in the belly.

When you get a bacterial infection with the flu, your symptoms may get better at first. Then they get worse with high fevers, more coughing, and a greenish tinge to what youâre coughing up.

Call your doctor if you have a cough that wonât stop, a bad fever, or if you get shortness of breath or chest pains. The doctor can do tests to find out if you have pneumonia. Antibiotics can treat bacterial pneumonia, but these meds can’t treat viral pneumonia.

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

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