Vaccination News Home Page            Scandals            subscribe Vaccination NewsLetter

http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?s=%20%201259931

Pneumonia Vaccine Doesn't Work for Elderly
 
 
 

5/1/03- 78-year-old Frank McJannet says he was very surprised when a bout of pneumonia landed him in the hospital last fall. Surprised, because he had gotten the pneumonia vaccine.

Frank McJannet, Seattle: "You get the shot just so you don't get the problem with the disease,
whatever it happens to be. And this one didn't work out."

Many seniors get the pneumonia vaccine when they get their flu shots. But group health researchers just concluded a major government study of 47,000 people over 65. They found those who expected protection against pneumonia from the vaccine, didn't get it.

Dr. Lisa Jackson, MD, Group Health: "We looked at all pneumonia in this population, and didn't find any difference between person's who had the vaccine and those that hadn't."

Infants fared much better. A second study shows a different pneumonia vaccine, recently available to babies, cut the rate of pneumonia in toddlers by almost 70%. But this vaccine hasn't been shown to be effective for older kids or adults. So what should seniors do who want to protect against pneumonia? Vaccine researcher Dr. Lisa Jackson says they still need to roll up their sleeves for the pneumonia vaccine. Research shows it does protect against a rare but nasty bloodstream infection.

All content © Copyright 2000 - 2003, WorldNow and WLNS. All Rights Reserved.
For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

 

Vaccination News Home Page

 

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.