December 16, 1999 – A two-year study of 1,900 people over the age of 65 with chronic lung disease shows that the vaccine against Streptoccocus pneumoniae, one of the possible sources of pneumonia, reduces the number of hospitalizations by more than 40% and the number of deaths by almost 30%.
According to Dr. Kristin L. Nichol, a member of the research team, people who received the flu vaccine in addition to the one against pneumonia were even better protected: in their case, the number of hospitalizations has increased. was reduced by 72% and that of deaths by 82%. About two-thirds of the study subjects had received the pneumonia vaccine.
Each year, more than 40,000 Americans and more than 7,000 Canadians die from pneumonia, the majority of them elderly. The researchers therefore recommend that people at risk, defined as people over 65 and people with chronic lung disease, be vaccinated against Streptoccocus pneumoniae, which gives permanent protection against the bacteria.
HealthPassport.net
Source: Archives of Internal Medicine 1999; 159: 23437-2442
