CDC is urging two shots for seniors

What’s good for the kids is good for grandma and grandpa, too, federal health officials have decided. A vaccine that has been successful in stemming pneumonia in children (and the adults in their lives) is being pushed for older people. Prevnar 13 now is on the list of recommended vaccines for adults age 65 or older. But it isn’t a replacement for the pneumococcal vaccine already routinely used in that population, meaning older people should get both shots, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that people 65 or older who have had no vaccine against pneumonia first receive PCV13 (Prevnar) and then 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (Pneumovax). The doses should be given six to 12 months apart. Those who already have received Pneumovax should get Prevnar a year or more after their most-recent Pneumovax shot. The committee had previously recommended using the...