In October, the CDC lowered the age recommendation for the vaccine against pneumonia.
Before, it was 65 and older. The health agency now says you should get the shot at age 50.
KERA’s Sam Baker talks with Dr. David Winter, an internist with Baylor, Scott, and White - Dallas about the reasons for the change.
We're seeing a lot more of it (pneumonia) lately. That's the concern.
It used to be mainly in older folks, but we're now seeing it in middle-aged Americans. And so, because of the increase in the incidence, the CDC now recommends the vaccine, which works pretty well to minimize or sometimes even prevent pneumonia.
But what's causing the spread?
Most cases pop up randomly. It's unlikely or unusual for someone to say, I got it from so-and-so.
You can get it from a viral infection. Once the virus gets in your lungs, it increases secretions. You can get a secondary bacterial infection. So, that's one way.
But we're not sure why there's more pneumonia out there. Maybe more people are congregating together. Maybe the pneumonia bug itself is more virulent. We just don't know the actual reason.
The CDC says the vaccine battles pneumococcal bacteria. I know that involves pneumonia, but also more than that, correct?
The bacteria can cause other infections. Very rare cases of pneumococcal meningitis. It's thought the vaccine may also help to prevent that.
But the most common thing it does is to get in the lungs where it spreads. And that's what they recommend the vaccine for because that's the most common thing we're seeing.
The pneumonia vaccine works very well. It has very minimal side effects. You might get a sore arm for a day or two, sometimes an aching, but usually not severe side effects at all.
It works very effectively. People who get pneumonia after a vaccine do very well, or may not get it at all. They have very mild symptoms. So, the vaccine is worthwhile to consider.
Will it require a follow-up or booster later?
Yeah, there's a lot of different pneumonia vaccines out there.
The newer ones are called pneumococcal 20 or pneumococcal 21. And those are a lifetime vaccine. If you get those, that's all that you need.
The older ones don't tend to last as long. So, it's recommended that you go ahead and get these newer vaccines, the pneumococcal 20 or pneumococcal 21.
Is this only for people 50 and older, or younger people with certain risk conditions?
The previous recommendations were that if you were 65 or older, you could get a pneumococcal vaccine. Now they're saying if you're 50 or older, you should get one. But indeed, if you are younger than that and have some immune deficiency condition or have some chronic illness like chronic heart disease, lung disease, or kidney disease, you also should consider getting what at that age.
Is this something that needed to be done before now?
Well, typically in the past, we see mainly serious cases of pneumonia in the older folks. And if you were younger, you tolerated it pretty well and got over it pretty quickly.
However, there has been an increase in severe cases of pneumonia in younger folks. That's the reason for the new recommendation.
Just how dangerous is pneumonia?
A lot of folks have mild cases. We call that walking pneumonia. That's not a medical term. It means you walk in the doctor's office and we say you have pneumonia and here are your antibiotics. You can now go home.
But we're seeing more severe cases now, and that's a concern. Severe cases require hospitalization, and sometimes they end up in death. That's the reason we're targeting everyone age 50 and older.
Also, young children. If they're under age five, they need pneumonia vaccinations. They can also get a severe case of pneumococcal pneumonia.
RESOURCES:
C.D.C. Lowers Age to Get Vaccine Against Pneumonia
CDC Recommends Lowering the Age for Pneumococcal Vaccination from 65 to 50 Years Old
American Lung Association: Symptoms & Treatments
CDC: About Pneumococcal
