Help protect yourself against pneumonia

NHS South Yorkshire is encouraging people over 65 to take up the offer of a free pneumococcal vaccine (also known as the pneumonia vaccine) to help protect against serious and potentially fatal pneumococcal infections.

Pneumococcal infections are caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae and can lead to pneumonia, blood poisoning (sepsis) and meningitis.

If you’re 65 or over, you should be offered a type of pneumococcal vaccine known as the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV). This one-off vaccination is very effective at protecting you against serious forms of pneumococcal infection.

Who is at risk of pneumococcal infection?

Anyone can get a pneumococcal infection but some people are at higher risk of serious illness, so it’s recommended they’re given the pneumococcal vaccination on the NHS.

These include:

• adults aged 65 or over

Pneumococcal vaccines do not contain any live organisms. They cannot cause the infections they protect against.

• children and adults with certain long-term health conditions, such as a serious heart or kidney condition

• babies

Side effects of the pneumococcal vaccine

Like most vaccines, the pneumococcal vaccine can sometimes cause mild side effects.

These include:

• a slightly raised temperature

• redness where the injection was given

• hardness or swelling where the injection was given

There are no serious side effects listed for the vaccine, apart from an extremely rare risk of a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis).

Pneumococcal vaccines do not contain any live organisms. They cannot cause the infections they protect against.

Booster doses of pneumococcal vaccine

People aged 65 and over only need a single pneumococcal vaccination, it is not given annually like the flu jab. However, if your spleen does not work properly or you have a chronic kidney condition, you may need booster doses every 5 years. This is because your levels of antibodies against the infection decrease over time.

How do I get the vaccine?

If you are over 65 or under 65 and in one of the at-risk groups you should be contacted by your GP practice to arrange to have the vaccine. If you have not yet had the vaccine, or if you think you should have the booster please contact your practice.