Pnumonia shots

[Carina16]

I was just wondering if anyone had any experince with pneumonia shots.

For some reason, my girlfriend seems to get pneumonia about once a year. She got one back at Thanksgiving before they released her for a round of it then. She was hospitialized again at Christmas for it. She was admitted again tonight for yet another round.

[TheSHAD0W]

Most likely an antibiotic. Does she get a shot and then a series of oral medication?

[Carina16]

Well, when she gets admitted, she gets several rounds of IV antibiotics and steroids. The shot I'm actually asking about though, is one that they gave her at Thanksgiving that was supposed to be a vaccine to prevent her from getting pneumonia. You get every 5 years.

[TheSHAD0W]

Sorry, never had this vaccine, nor do I know of anyone who has. (They may not have mentioned it, of course.) Actually, I've never heard of it before.

Wikipedia article, for reference.

[Mishi]

Yeah, the Prevenar is one of the standard vaccines for kids over here. My two girls have had them with no problems, and they seem to be immune. Hope your girlfriend gets better really soon!

[fireheart]

Yeah, the Prevenar is one of the standard vaccines for kids over here. My two girls have had them with no problems, and they seem to be immune. Hope your girlfriend gets better really soon!

Is it part of the regular school program or....?

Every time I go over to the doctor's clinic, they have the immunisation schedule in the waiting room. The pneumonia vaccines have cropped up, but not under the standard "childhood immunisation" schedule (there are a couple that I'm meant to be having once I start teaching). I'm not sure if it's a state or federal thing though.

(from memory, babies at birth receive the Hep B injection, then they start their course from 2 months and up, 12 months they get the varicella vaccine and the MMR (IIRC), then a booster at 18 months (I think), followed by a few vaccines at 4 years of age before school starts, Hep B in Year 8, DTPa in Year 9 and Gardrasil at some point along the way)

ETA: Yep, looks like it is. Pneumonia at two, four and six months, as well as rotavirus.

[Ellain]

IIRC, the adult pneumonia vaccine is only supposed to be given 3 times in a person's life, and no closer than 5 years from one injection to the next. Granted, it has been almost a year since I attended that seminar, so I could be wrong.

Also, there are multiple strains of pneumonia, so it is possible that the immunization she received didn't cover the version she has gotten. Currently, I believe 23 strains ( the most common ones) are protected against.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Maybe it takes a while for full immunity to develop (longer than the few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas?) and she was just unlucky to catch something in the interim. Also some people just don't react as well to vaccines as others, no matter what. If she's prone to pneumonia, that might indicate something with her immune system such that she might not respond as strongly to the vaccine in the first place. (I just got a flu shot the other day; in the past I only got them in college, and had never had the flu anyway, but I got it a couple years ago and it turned into "borderline" pneumonia, and I've gotten a flu shot each year since. I was actually listening to a podcast where the guy played a talk by someone else at a convention and she talked about how the immune system and vaccines work; it was interesting.)

[JustaCashier]

As Ellain mentioned, the pneumonia vacc will not cover all strains. I was told that when I got my vacc late last year.

I, too, caught pneumonia around Thanksgiving, and then relapsed around Christmas.

Fortunately, no more relapses so far, and I've had three colds since then, including now, that became no worse than a cold.



Mike

[Carina16]

Well, her doctor and I had a nice chat about it today. If it weren't for the fact she was sick, we would have found the situation silghtly amusing. She generally seems to get pnumonia once a year. Since getting the vaccine, she has had it three times in less than a year.

Of course, I can't really say much. The years I get a flu shot, I end up with the flu. The years I don't get one, I don't get the flu. lol

[BlaqueKatt]

The shot I'm actually asking about though, is one that they gave her at Thanksgiving that was supposed to be a vaccine to prevent her from getting pneumonia.

It prevents 13 strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae(most common), there are other bacteria that cause pneumonia such as strains of pneumococcal bacteria, and others.

So while it prevents some, it won't prevent all of them.

I've had it, a few of my coworkers are thinking about it, I've had no issues, however I don't get sick often, I keep my vaccinations up to date because my spouse can't get them.

[Sapphire Silk]

I was just wondering if anyone had any experince with pneumonia shots.

For some reason, my girlfriend seems to get pneumonia about once a year. She got one back at Thanksgiving before they released her for a round of it then. She was hospitialized again at Christmas for it. She was admitted again tonight for yet another round.

They're recommended every 5 years for people who are at risk (people with chronic lung conditions, the elderly). They protect from multiple strains, but not every strain and it takes awhile for the immunity to build up. You still might get pneumonia though usually it is not as bad as if you did not have the shot (much like with the flu shot).

Odds are, your GF wasn't immune to the strain of Pneumonia she actually contracted for whatever reason. Unfortunately, the vaccine doesn't always work.

[violiavampyr]

I've never heard of pneumonia shots until this year, when I drove past WalGreens earlier today.

[kansasgal]

I get pneumonia fairly often and just got a pneumonia shot, so I'm hoping it works. I have chronic Bronchitis and it seems every time I get a cold it goes to my chest

[NorthernZel]

Sorry, never had this vaccine, nor do I know of anyone who has. (They may not have mentioned it, of course.) Actually, I've never heard of it before.

Wikipedia article, for reference.

Over here, Pneumococcal vaccine is given to prevent meningitis, not pneumonia.