Be aware of pneumococcal vaccines
VCU School of Pharmacy faculty, alumni and students have provided the Dr. Rx column for Richmond’s Fifty Plus magazine since December 2009. We now share those columns on the SOP website, as well, for those who might not have seen the most recent issue.
Serving as Dr. Rx for August 2015 were Ashley-Nicole Carmichael and Courtland Gammon, fourth-year Pharm.D. students. Carmichael’s focus areas are infectious disease and critical care, and Gammon’s are community pharmacy, chronic disease state management and geriatric pharmacy.
Q: I have seen advertisements about a new pneumonia vaccine. What is it for, and how do I know if I need one?
A: This is a great question, as August is National Immunization Awareness Month! The pneumococcal vaccines (sometimes called pneumonia vaccines) offer protection against certain strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae, which is a common cause of bacterial infection in the lungs known as pneumonia. However, Streptococcus pneumoniae can also cause infections in the blood (bacteremia) and brain (meningitis).
This bacterium is usually breathed in and can be spread through coughing or sneezing, causing more than 1 million hospitalizations per year and about 50,000 deaths. People with pneumonia often experience fever, chills, cough, chest pain and difficulty breathing. You might be at higher risk for pneumonia if you are older than 65, live in a nursing home or retirement community, smoke or take certain medications.
Two types of pneumococcal vaccines currently are available: Pneumovax 23 (PPSV23) and Prevnar 13 (PCV13). Prevnar is the most recently approved vaccine for adults. Most people should receive at least one dose of each of these vaccines in their lifetime. Which vaccine you should receive depends on your age, health and living environment.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, people age 65 or older should receive one dose of Prevnar 13 if they have not received one before or do not know if they have received one. This is also the case for adults ages 19 to 64 who have functional or anatomical asplenia, cerebrospinal fluid leak, cochlear implants or other immunocompromising conditions.
The PPSV23 is recommended for all adults age 65 and older as well as for those ages 2 to 64 who have any of the following conditions: cigarette smokers (age 19 and older), chronic cardiovascular disease, chronic pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, alcoholism, chronic liver disease, cochlear implants, cerebrospinal fluid leak, functional or anatomic asplenia, immunocompromising conditions, solid organ transplant recipient or chronic renal failure.
People ages 19 to 64 and the parents of those 2- to 18-year-olds who have one of the listed conditions should talk to their health care providers about when to receive the PCV13 and PPSV23 vaccines.
Adults age 65 and older who have not received the PCV13 should receive a dose of PCV13 first, then a dose of PPSV23 six to 12 months later. If you already have received one or more doses of PPSV23, then PCV13 should be administered preferably one year after your most recent dose of PPSV23. If you need another dose of PPSV23, you should receive it at least five years after your last dose of PPSV23 and at least six to 12 months after your last dose of PCV13.
Most pneumonia cases can be treated with antibiotics. With the vaccines, however, the hope is to prevent the disease. More than 73 million adults in this country have an indication to receive one or both pneumococcal vaccines but have not yet done so.
Talk to your health care provider or pharmacist to see if these vaccines are right for you and when you should receive your first dose. Both vaccines can cause mild side effects, such as redness or pain at the injection site, but few people experience more severe side effects.
In general, the benefit of protecting yourself with the vaccine is greater than the risk of severe side effects.
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