Pneumococcal polyscaccharide vaccine - what you need need to know

PNEUMOCOCCAL
POL
YSACCHARIDE
W H A T YO U N E E D T O K N O W
1 Why get vaccinated?
3 Who should get PPV?
Pneumococcal disease is a serious disease that • All adults 65 years of age or older.
causes much sickness and death. In fact,pneumococcal disease kills more people in the • Anyone over 2 years of age who has a long- United States each year than all other vaccine- preventable diseases combined. Anyone can get pneumococcal disease. However, some people are at greater risk from the disease. These include people 65 and older, the very young, and people with special health problems such as alcoholism, heart or lung disease, kidney failure, diabetes, HIV infection, or certain types of cancer.
• Anyone over 2 years of age who has a disease infections of the lungs (pneumonia), the blood or condition that lowers the body’s resistance (bacteremia), and the covering of the brain (meningitis). About 1 out of every 20 people who get pneumococcal pneumonia dies from it, as do about 2 people out of 10 who get bacteremia and 3 people out of 10 who get meningitis. People with the special health problems mentioned above are even more likely to die from the diease.
Drugs such as penicillin were once effective in treating these infections; but the disease has become more resistant to these drugs, makingtreatment of pneumococcal infections more • Anyone over 2 years of age who is taking any difficult. This makes prevention of the disease drug or treatment that lowers the body’s through vaccination even more important.
resistance to infection, such as:- long-term steroids- certain cancer drugs- radiation therapy 2 Pneumococcal polysaccharide
vaccine (PPV)
• Alaskan Natives and certain Native American The pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) protects against 23 types of pneumococcalbacteria. Most healthy adults who get the vaccinedevelop protection to most or all of these typeswithin 2 to 3 weeks of getting the shot. Very oldpeople, children under 2 years of age, and peoplewith some long-term illnesses might not respondas well or at all.
4 How many doses of PPV are
About half of those who get the vaccine have very mild side effects, such as redness or pain where theshot is given.
Usually one dose of PPV is all that is needed.
However, under some circumstances a second dose Less than 1% develop a fever, muscle aches, or more • A second dose is recommended for those Severe allergic reactions have been reported very people aged 65 and older who got their first dose when they were under 65, if 5 or more As with any medicine, there is a very small risk that serious problems, even death, could occur after • A second dose is also recommended for people Getting the disease is much more likely to cause serious problems than getting the vaccine.
- have sickle-cell disease- have HIV infection or AIDS- have cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple 7 What if there is a serious
reaction?
What should I look for?
• Severe allergic reaction (hives, difficulty breathing, - have had an organ or bone marrow transplant - are taking medication that lowers immunity What should I do?
(such as chemotherapy or long-term steroids) • Call a doctor, or get the person to a doctor right
Children 10 years old and younger may get this second dose 3 years after the first dose. Those older • Tell your doctor what happened, the date and time
than 10 should get it 5 years after the first dose.
it happened, and when the vaccination was given.
• Ask your doctor, nurse, or health department to
report the reaction by filing a Vaccine Adverse Event 5 Other facts about getting the
Or you can file this report through the VAERS web • Otherwise healthy children who often get ear site at www.vaers.org, or by calling 1-800-822-7967.
infections, sinus infections, or other upper VAERS does not provide medical advice. respiratory diseases do not need to get PPVbecause of these conditions.
8 How can I learn more?
• PPV may be less effective in some people, especially those with lower resistance to infection. But these • Ask your doctor or nurse. They can give you the people should still be vaccinated, because they are vaccine package insert or suggest other sources of more likely to get seriously ill from pneumococcal • Call your local or state health department.
• Contact the Centers for Disease Control and • Pregnancy: The safety of PPV for pregnant women
has not yet been studied. There is no evidence that - Call 1-800-232-4636 (1-800-CDC-INFO) or
the vaccine is harmful to either the mother or the - Visit the National Immunization Program website fetus, but pregnant women should consult with at www.cdc.gov/nip
their doctor before being vaccinated. Women who are at high risk of pneumococcal disease should be vaccinated before becoming pregnant, if possible.
6 What are the risks from PPV?
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Pneumococcal (7/29/97) Vaccine Information Statement

Source: http://www.imuneclinicas.com.br/Pneumo23.pdf