Fierce Healthcare's Fierce 15 of 2024

CDC Widens Pneumococcal Vaccine Recommendation To All Over 50

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends that American adults over the age of 50 receive the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, or PCV.

The report with the updated recommendation was published on Thursday. Previously, the recommendation for the vaccine was only for adults who were aged 65 and older and people between the ages 19 and 64 who had risks for pneumococcal disease. A PCV protects against pneumococcal bacteria, which can cause pneumonia, meningitis and bloodstream infections.

On Oct. 23, 2024, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which advises the CDC on vaccines, recommended a single dose of PCV for all adults aged 50 and older. The CDC adopted the recommendation, noting that the expanded age recommendation should enhance disease prevention in adults between the ages of 50 and 64, as they face higher rates of infection.

The risk recommendations for those between 19 and 49 years old will stay in place under the new recommendation adoption.

"The recommendation was supported by several factors, including the potential to improve vaccination coverage and reduce pneumococcal disease incidence and mortality in adults aged 50 to 64 years, particularly among demographic groups experiencing higher disease rates," the CDC wrote in its statement.

In 2022, adults who were between 50 and 64 had higher incident rates of infection compared to all other age groups except those who were 65 and up, the CDC noted.

The Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria causes pneumococcal disease. There are different types of PCV vaccines that the CDC recommends based on a person's age and medical conditions. Older adults who have already had a PCV should talk to their doctor about which PCV to receive. 

Pneumococcal pneumonia affects about 12% to 13% of all people who are hospitalized for pneumonia. The infection leads to about 225,000 adult hospitalizations in the United States each year, the CDC reported.

Confidence In Vaccines Both Steady And Rising In US Adults

HealthDay News — Vaccines to protect against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in newborns and older adults are being more widely accepted by the American public, while confidence in other vaccines remains unchanged, according to the results of a new Annenberg Public Policy Center survey.

The survey, led by Kathleen Hall Jamieson and other researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, included a nationally representative sample of 1,771 U.S. Adults and was conducted from Nov. 14 to 24, 2024.

More than half of U.S. Adults (52 percent) think the vaccine given to pregnant individuals to protect infants from RSV is effective, up from 42 percent in October 2023, while 61 percent say the RSV vaccine is effective for adults aged 60 years and older, up from 54 percent in October 2023. In contrast, 86 percent of respondents say the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine is safe, up from 81 percent in October 2023 and similar to August 2022 (88 percent), and 83 percent say the flu vaccine is safe, unchanged from October 2023. Less than two-thirds of respondents (65 percent) say the COVID-19 vaccine is safe, unchanged from 2023. Respondents view the seasonal flu shot as more effective at reducing the risk for getting a severe illness (75 percent) compared with the COVID-19 booster for reducing the risk for getting a severe case of the disease (55 percent). Despite belief in safety and effectiveness, only 51 percent of respondents either received the seasonal flu shot (40 percent) or say they are very likely to receive it (11 percent) or the COVID-19 booster (38 percent received it and 9 percent are very likely to).

"Despite continuing attacks on the safety and efficacy of certain vaccines by some politicians, nine in 10 respondents say it is important for parents to get their children vaccinated," according to the authors of the report.

More Information

Ask The DoctorsPneumonia Vaccine Available To Adults Over 50

Dear Doctors: I just turned 57, and my doctor is now saying that I should get vaccinated for pneumonia. The only time I ever had pneumonia was one time when I had a bad case of the flu. Why isn't he talking about a flu vaccine? I would like to understand the thinking here.

Dear Reader: Let's begin by discussing pneumonia, which is a kind of respiratory illness. It occurs when the millions of tiny air sacs located deep within the lungs become inflamed. Known as alveoli, the proper functioning of these air sacs is crucial to our health and well-being. The membrane of these air sacs is where the oxygen that you have inhaled gets delivered into the bloodstream. It is also where carbon dioxide, which is a waste product, gets offloaded in order to be exhaled.

When someone has pneumonia, it means that inflammation in the alveoli in one or both lungs has caused a buildup of fluid or pus. This impedes or even prevents the oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange and causes symptoms that can range from mild to severe.

The severity of someone's illness depends on the microbe that is causing it, their general health and their age. Symptoms can include fever, chills, wheezing, a persistent cough, difficulty breathing, muscle pain (often in the upper back), fatigue or exhaustion. When someone with pneumonia has a cough, mucus may be produced.

Pneumonia can be caused by a virus, bacteria or fungus. Each of these can cause an immune reaction in the tissues of the lungs. Your case of pneumonia, which occurred while you had the flu, is known as viral pneumonia. Fungi can also cause pneumonia, particularly in people who are living with weakened immune systems.

However, your doctor is concerned with a different cause of the condition, which is a bacterial infection. Many types of bacteria can cause pneumonia. The most common here in the United States is Streptococcus pneumoniae, which is also known as pneumococcus bacteria. It is this bacterium that is the target of the vaccine that your doctor is recommending.

As we mentioned, age plays a role in how sick someone gets when they have pneumonia. Older adults and young children are at particular risk for severe disease. For older adults, this is due to multiple factors. One is that immune response tends to become less robust as we reach older age. Older adults are also more likely to be living with other health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and Type 2 diabetes. Muscle weakness and frailty can make it difficult to cough and clear the airways. The fatigue and weakness caused by the decrease in blood oxygen during pneumonia can have an adverse effect on cognition.

Due to rising rates of pneumococcal pneumonia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently lowered the recommended age for the pneumonia vaccine from 65 to 50. The shot also protects against other infections pneumococcus bacteria can cause, including sinus, ear and blood infections, and meningitis. At 57, you are covered by the updated recommendation for a pneumonia vaccine.

Eve Glazier, M.D., MBA, is an internist and associate professor of medicine at UCLA Health. Elizabeth Ko, M.D., is an internist and assistant professor of medicine at UCLA Health. Send your questions to askthedoctors@mednet.Ucla.Edu, or write: Ask the Doctors, c/o UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations, 10960 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1955, Los Angeles, CA, 90024. Owing to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.

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