Most of us are familiar with the vaccines recommended for infants and school-age children, and also the flu vaccine we hear so much about as each flu season approaches. One crucial vaccine that the general public knows very little about is the pneumococcal vaccine.
More alarmingly, the populations that are the most vulnerable and therefore need this vaccine the most continue to be drastically less covered by it; for instance, African American and Hispanic populations receive this vaccine at rates roughly 20 percent less than their non-Hispanic, white counterparts. So what is it, who needs it, and why is it so incredibly important?
According to the CDC, there are two different forms of the pneumococcal vaccine, and while the form recommended depends on the age of a patient and other factors, they prevent pneumococcal disease. Pneumococcal disease is an infection caused by the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterium, also known as pneumococcus. Infection can result in pneumonia, infection of the blood (bacteremia/sepsis), middle-ear infection (otitis media), or bacterial meningitis.
The World Health Organization lists pneumococcal disease as one of the leading worldwide causes of morbidity and mortality for people of all ages and ethnicities. Sepsis, a general term describing an infection in the bloodstream, is one of the biggest causes of death in the hospital setting, more particularly in intensive care units. In hospital units, sepsis is ubiquitous and is perhaps the biggest risk of long-term hospitalization. The groups of people most susceptible to contracting it as a secondary infection are also more likely to die from it, and this is especially troubling given how easy and relatively inexpensive it is to be vaccinated against it.
So who needs this vaccine? The CDC recommends it for anyone younger than 2, older than 64 (the CDC recommends that people in this category receive two separate pneumococcal vaccines), smokers ages 19-64, and for any age in between if a person is in a high-risk category for contracting (or being more likely to die from) pneumococcal disease. This includes anyone with a compromised immune system, anyone who suffers from chronic illness, children younger than 2, and adults older than age 64.
Recent data on pneumococcal vaccines from the National Foundation of Infectious Disease tell us that less than 50 percent of African Americans have ever received these vaccines, compared to 64 percent of their non-Hispanic, white counterparts. This is simply unacceptable, given that African Americans are more likely to be susceptible to the infections that pneumococcal vaccines protect against. Getting these vaccines is easy and relatively inexpensive, and they can protect you and your loved ones and drastically reduce the risk of contracting something serious that is likely to result in death.
These vaccines aren't just important for you as an individual. One of the most distinct benefits of a well-vaccinated population is something known as herd immunity. Herd immunity means that once a target percentage of the population has been vaccinated against a disease (for most vaccines, the target rate is 90 percent), then rates of that disease fall. If the population at large is vaccinated and therefore immune to pneumococcal disease, it cannot proliferate. It is because of herd immunity that things like measles are relatively unheard of in this day and age.
Given the risks of not vaccinating and how easy it is to get a pneumococcal vaccine, you must protect yourself and your loved ones and help spread awareness. Talk to your health-care provider and find out if you need one and, if so, how to get it. These vaccines are readily available at health clinics and pharmacies everywhere, and they only take a few minutes. Get educated and get vaccinated. It's one very simple way to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your communities at large.
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Rose Shaw-Bullock, MD, is a physician at North Little Rock Primary Care Clinic.
Editorial on 04/27/2018