What You Need to Know About the Pneumococcal Vaccine

By Heather Zelhart, RN

Too many times I have taken care of older patients who come into the hospital with a diagnosis of pneumonia who have not had a pneumoccoccal vaccine. If you have not had this vaccine, the following information may aid you in deciding if the pneumococcal vaccine will benefit you.

First, let’s start with a review of the pneumococcal disease. The disease is spread from person to person by droplets in the air. Many people carry the bacteria in their nose and throat without ever developing the disease. Symptoms of the disease can include an abrupt onset of fever, shaking, chills, or rigor, chest pain, cough, shortness of breath, rapid breathing and heart rate, and weakness. The fatality rate is 5-7 % and may be much higher in the elderly. Young children and the elderly (those of you 65 years of age and older) have the highest incidence of serious disease. Treatment for the pneumococcal disease is usually penicillin. However, resistance to penicillin and other antibiotics used to treat this disease has been on the rise. This increases the difficulty of treating this disease which makes PREVENTION THROUGH VACCINATION EVEN MORE IMPORTANT!

The vaccination currently recommended for the elderly and for high risk patients is called PPV, or the polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine (that’s a mouthful!). The vaccine has been shown to provide approximately 60% protection against invasive disease in the elderly population. It is important to understand though PPV provides incomplete protection, especially in those with underlying high-risk conditions.

So, bottom line, if you are 65 years of age or older, and have not received the pneumococcal vaccine take charge of your health, and ASK YOUR PRIMARY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER ABOUT RECEIVING THE PPV TODAY! What do you have to lose?

References

Vila-Corcoles, A. (2007). Advances in Pneumococcal Vaccines: What are the
Advantages for the Elderly? Retrieved February 4, 2009, from
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Author unknown. (2007). Pneumococcal Vaccine Questions & Answers. Retrieved
February 4, 2009, from www.vaccineinformation.org

Notes: This blog post reflects the work of Heather Zelhart RN with minor editing by Shirley Comer RN and was completed as a class assignment. The icontent of this blog is for informational purposes only. Before beginning or changing a treatment or lifestyle regime you should consult your primary health care provider.