What vaccines are available to help prevent invasive pneumococcal disease and flu infections?
For the prevention of pneumococcal disease, two vaccines are currently available in the United States. • All children less than 5 years of age should receive pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) according to current recommendations. • In addition, the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV) should be administered to all persons 2-64 years of age with high risk conditions and everyone 65 years and older. • Special emphasis should be placed on vaccinating adults under 65 years of age who have established high-risk conditions for pneumococcal disease; PPSV coverage among this group is low and this group may be more likely to develop secondary bacterial pneumonia after a flu infection. • For those 19 through 64 years of age, high-risk conditions include: having asthma or smoking cigarettes. • For those 2 through 64 years of age, high-risk conditions include: chronic cardiovascular disease (congestive heart failure and cardiomyopathies), chronic pulmonary disease (including ch
