Everything about Pneumonia Vaccine: Purpose, Dosage & Side Effects

A pneumococcal vaccine or pneumonia vaccine aims at strengthening your immune system and protecting you against pneumococcal infections.

Are you suffering from pneumonia or afraid of being infected? Learn all about the pneumonia vaccine with this article!

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What Is Pneumonia?

Pneumococcal disease or pneumonia is common among children, and older adults are also at high risk of getting affected by it. It is a bacteria spreading through person-to-person contact. If you are wondering what pneumonia is, the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria are mainly responsible for causing it. It ends up causing inflammation in the air sacs of one or both lungs. The following symptoms of pneumonia are commonly seen in patients.

Frequent coughing
Chest pain while breathing or coughing
Fever and sweating
Nausea and vomiting
Shortness of breath and fatigue
Confusion and mental health issues

When it comes to the symptoms of pneumonia in babies, the significant signs include cough, diarrhoea and vomiting. Moreover, loss of appetite and fever are also common in infants.

Now, if you are wondering how pneumonia is caused, there can be various reasons. Other than Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, organisms such as Mycoplasma pneumoniae are also capable of causing this disease. Moreover, viruses such as COVID 19 cause cold and flu, which can end up causing pneumonia. Furthermore, you can also catch this disease from your long-term stay in a hospital. Thus, the main types of pneumonia include bacterial pneumonia, viral pneumonia and Mycoplasma pneumonia.

What Is a Pneumonia Vaccine?

Now that you know the primary causes of pneumonia, you must be curious to learn more about the ways to handle it. A pneumonia vaccine helps prevent the risks of developing pneumonia. The following kinds of this vaccine are commonly seen in healthcare settings.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV13, PCV15, and PCV20)
Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23)

The primary purpose of taking a pneumonia vaccine is to prevent getting pneumonia. Unfortunately, there is no complete guarantee that this vaccine can protect you from getting pneumonia. However, it is undoubtedly one of the most vital precautions to strengthen your immune system for fighting against the disease.

If you wonder how to treat pneumonia, you should know that prevention is always better than cure. One of the primary benefits of this vaccine is that its PCV13 variant can protect you against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria. Such bacteria are potential causes of severe infection in children and adults. Moreover, the PPSV23 variant can defend you against 23 types of pneumonia bacteria.

Who Should Take the Pneumonia Vaccine?

After knowing the meaning of pneumonia, you must be curious to know who should take it. Healthcare researchers suggest people bring their kids to get this vaccine as infants. The following groups of people and dosage are suitable for taking this vaccine.

1. Kids and Infants

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PCV13 is recommended for kids younger than two years of age. This is because it helps them develop their immune system to fight against this bacteria from a young age. Doctors recommend about four shots, one dose each at two months, four months and six months. Finally, a booster dose is given between 12 and 15 months.

2. Older Adults

Apart from kids, people at higher risk of getting pneumonia are older adults of 65 years or more. This is because your immune system starts failing at this age, inviting diseases like pneumonia. CDC recommends vaccines PCV15 or PCV20 for people from this age group. You need to take about two shots, which will last for the rest of your life.

3. Weak Immunity

If you have a weak immune system, you will be at high risk for catching disorders like pneumonia. This condition can happen because of other diseases, such as heart disease, emphysema, diabetes, asthma, or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Moreover, if you have undergone chemotherapy, organ transplants or HIV, you should consider taking this vaccine.

4. Smoking and Drinking

People addicted to smoking tobacco can be exposed to the risk of damaging the tiny hairs lining the insides of their lungs. As these hairs are responsible for filtering the germs out of your lungs, this condition can be ideal for inviting pneumonia. On the other hand, if you are a regular alcohol consumer, your white blood cells might be weaker and not perform as healthy cells. In such conditions, you should consider getting a pneumonia vaccine.

Who Should Avoid Taking a Pneumonia Vaccine?

There are no guidelines from healthcare researchers regarding the people who should avoid getting this vaccine. However, if you are a healthy individual between 18 and 50 years of age, you can avoid taking it during this period. Moreover, if you are allergic to any medicines similar to the ones used in this vaccine, you can skip them.

What Are the Side Effects of a Pneumonia Vaccine?

When it comes to the side effects of the pneumonia vaccine, these are usually mild. However, you can face some of the following issues after getting a vaccine.

Swelling or soreness on the skin (injection site)
Fever
Irritability
Sore muscles
Loss of appetite

These are the commonly found side effects of the pneumonia vaccine in adults. If you face these, you should consult your doctor and take measures against them.

How to Prevent the Spread of Pneumonia?

Walking pneumonia can be contagious, and uncovered coughs and sneezes can quickly spread it. However, the following measures can help you prevent smudging it.

Wash your hands frequently
Keep a distance from pneumonia patients
Avoid eating from the same cups and plates as them
Reduce smoking habits
Maintain a balanced diet and exercise regularly
Get vaccinated

Usually, the treatment of pneumonia is simple. Sometimes, you do not even require treatment, rather resting helps you heal. Now, you might be wondering, “how long does COVID pneumonia last?”. To answer that, it usually does not take more than a week to recover from pneumonia. However, recovering from walking pneumonia can take longer, up to almost six weeks. As COVID pneumonia also deals with issues arising from the lack of oxygen, it can take about 3-6 weeks to recover.

Thus, now you know the importance of the pneumonia vaccine for avoiding the chances of developing the virus and bacteria of pneumonia. While children are most prone to developing this disease, older adults can also develop it if they have undergone severe illnesses and have damaged immune systems.

Frequently Asked Questions

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How effective is the pneumonia vaccine?

As health researchers have opined, a pneumonia vaccine is 60%-70% effective in preventing pneumonia.

How often can an adult take a pneumonia vaccine?

According to the CDC, an individual should take about three doses of PPSV23 ideally in an entire lifetime. However, if you have immunocompromising conditions, you can take two doses of PPSV23 about five years apart.