Vaccine For Pneumonia: What Everyone Should Know

Pneumonia is a respiratory infection that affects the lungs and the bacteria that causes this deadly disease is Pneumococcus. The vaccine for Pneumonia is known as Pneumococcal Vaccine. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends pneumococcal vaccination for all children younger than 2 years old.

Below is more information about the vaccine for pneumonia.

Pneumonia is the largest infectious cause of death among children under the age of five worldwide. India accounted for one-fifth (20%) of the global pneumonia deaths in 2015.

“1 out of 6 childhood deaths were due to pneumonia in 2015” – National Health Mission, India.

Pneumonia affects children and families everywhere and children infected with pneumonia require early diagnosis and treatment. Many cases of pneumonia are vaccine-preventable.

Vaccination is a safe, effective and cost-effective tool for saving millions of lives by reducing deaths. Vaccinations help reduce childhood pneumonia in two ways:

• First, vaccinations help prevent children from developing infections that directly cause pneumonia, such as Hib, and S. pneumonia.

• Second, vaccinations may prevent infections that can lead to pneumonia as complications such as influenza, measles, and pertussis.

Pneumoccocal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV)

Pneumococcal pneumonia is the most common cause of severe pneumonia among children in the developing world. PCV has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing the incidence and severity of pneumonia and other lower respiratory infections in children. Children must receive all recommended doses in the vaccine schedule for maximum protection. Vaccination is not intended to be used for the treatment of active infection.

Vaccination Schedule For PCV Vaccine

PCV will be administered in three doses (2 primary and 1 Booster) at 6 week, 14 weeks, and 9 months of age as part of routine immunization.

• The first dose, PCV1, will be administered at 6 weeks of age with the first dose of pentavalent vaccine, oral polio vaccine (OPV), fractional-dose IPV1 and rotavirus vaccine.

• The second dose, PCV2, will be administered at 14 weeks of age, with the third dose of pentavalent vaccine, oral polio vaccine (OPV), fractional-dose IPV2, and rotavirus vaccines.

• The PCV booster dose will be administered at 9 months of age with the first dose of the measles vaccine.

PCV vaccines are safe with an efficacy of more than 80%. However, it is an expensive vaccine costing approximately INR 3000 to 4000 per dose in the private sector.

Content Source: National Health Mission, The Government of India.

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