CDC updates recommendations for pneumococcal and COVID vaccines
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- Reviewed by Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
The CDC has lowered the recommended age for healthy adults to receive a pneumococcal vaccine to 50 from 65.
The agency now also recommends a second dose of the 2024–25 COVID vaccine, to be taken six months after the first dose, for people 65 and older and those who have a moderately or severely compromised immune system.
The CDC released its updated vaccine recommendations on Oct. 29, 2024.
Lowering the age for routine pneumococcal vaccination — which can protect against pneumonia, meningitis, and some bloodstream infections — offers more adults the opportunity to gird themselves against these serious illnesses at an age where their risk of infection substantially increases, the CDC said. Similarly, older adults and immunocompromised people remain at higher risk of COVID, and data on COVID vaccine effectiveness suggest that protection against COVID-associated hospitalization, emergency department visits, and urgent care visits likely wanes by four to six months after vaccination. The updated recommendations help maximize these people's protection year-round.
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About the Author
Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
About the Reviewer
Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
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