A panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that advises the U.S. government on vaccines is expected to endorse a recommendation this month to lower the age from 65 to 50 for getting a routine pneumococcal vaccination, a shot to ward off a serious lung infection.
Health policy experts and patient advocates say the endorsement of the age change for pneumonia vaccination is likely when the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, composed of medical and public health experts, convenes Oct. 23 at CDC headquarters in Atlanta.,
Such a move would be welcome news for patients and medical providers.
We know that vaccines are the best way to help prevent pneumococcal disease, which the CDC defines as a serious lung infection caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Lowering the recommended age to 50 makes good public health sense. More awareness…
