Pneumonia Vaccines – Now there are 2!

Are you up to date on your pneumonia vaccinations?

Crown Care Hawaii

• About 900,000 Americans get pneumococcal pneumonia each year.
• 5-7% die from it – most of the deaths occur in people over 65.

The good news  –  there are vaccines

• The original pneumoniavaccine (PPSV23)  released in 1983,  protects against 23 different strains of the bacteria. But there were still infections and deaths from other pneumococcal bacterial strains.
• In 2010, the FDA approved another vaccine (PCV13) to cover these nasty actors.

Do I need both vaccines? Yes, you should get both if at risk.

Which vaccine should I get first?  It depends…

• If this is your first pneumonia vaccine you would get the newer one (PCV 13) first;  then 1 year later you would get the other vaccine (PPSV23)
• If you already had a prior vaccination with the original one (PPSV23) a  dose of the newer one (PCV13) should be given ≥1 yr after the other.

Do these vaccines protect from all…

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