Effect of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine on hospitalization in older adults

Invasive pneumococcal disease rates have decreased substantially in children and adults since 2010, when use of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in children became the standard of care. Adults 65 years of age and older receive significant additional protection against all-cause pneumonia and hospitalizations from lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) when vaccinated with 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PVC13), according to study results published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open. In the US, approximately 50,000 deaths are reported annually among the more than a quarter of a million people hospitalized for pneumonia, despite the high success rate in this century of the PCV13 vaccine in children. Since 2014, the PCV13 vaccine has been recommended for adults 65 years of age or older. Prior to 2014, only the PPV23 vaccine was recommended for this population. Researchers sought to investigate the association between vaccination with the PCV13 in adults aged 65...