Vaccine Reduces Morbidity and Mortality from Community-Acquired Pneumonia

EDMONTON, Alberta, Oct. 8 -- Pneumococcal vaccine dose not prevent community-acquired pneumonia but can significantly reduce deaths or ICU admissions from it, researchers here found.

A study of 3,415 patients treated for pneumonia found that immunization with the 23-valent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine was associated with a 40% reduction in the combined endpoint of death or admission to an ICU (P

The study was limited by its observational design and the fact that the investigators did not have specific measures of immunity or information regarding the timing of vaccinations. Other limitations included incomplete information about the cause of the pneumonia, a limited number of culture-confirmed pneumonias, and exclusion of certain populations (pregnant or nursing women and HIV patients).