NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials on Wednesday recommended that people 50 and older get a shot against bacteria that can cause pneumonia and other dangerous illnesses.
The recommendation was made by a scientific advisory panel and then accepted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The decision lowered — from 65 — the minimum recommended age for older adults to get the shot. “Now is a great time to get vaccinated against pneumococcal disease in preparation for the winter respiratory season,” CDC Director Dr.
Mandy Cohen said in a statement Wednesday night. The advisory committee voted 14-1 to make the change during a meeting earlier in the day in Atlanta. The guidance is widely heeded by doctors and prompts health insurers to pay for recommended shots.
Pneumococcal shot recommendations are sometimes called the most complicated vaccination guidance that the government issues. The CDC currently for children younger than 5 and adults 65 or older, as long as they have never been vaccinated against pneumococcal disease. Officials also recommend the shots for children and adults at increased risk for pneumococcal disease, such as those with diabetes, chronic liver disease or a weakened immune system.
There are more than 100 known types of pneumococci bacteria, which can cause serious infections in the lungs and other parts of the body. Each year, the U.S.
sees roughly 30,000 cases of invasive pneumococcal disease, which includes blood infections, brain an.
