Pneumonia Vaccine
We are now offering pneumonia vaccine in farnborough from our pharmacy. Call the pharmacy today on 01252 542807 to book your appointment.
Why vaccinate against pneumococcal pneumonia?
What is pneumonia?
Pneumonia is swelling (inflammation) of the tissue in one or both lungs, usually caused by A bacterial infection. One of the most common symptoms of pneumonia Is a cough. This can be dry or mucus producing (yellow, green, brownish or blood-stained)
Other common symptoms are:
- difficulty breathing
- rapid heartbeat
- fever
- feeling generally unwell
- sweating and shivering
- loss of appetite
- chest pain
As the symptoms of pneumonia vary and are similar to those of other chest infections, many people do not realise they have pneumonia until they visit a doctor.
Adult pneumonia can be serious, and may be more common than you think
Even mild cases of pneumonia, which are usually treated at home, can leave sufferers with a cough that persists 2-3 weeks after antibiotic treatment, and feeling fatigued for even longer, severe cases of pneumonia can occur in certain ‘at risk’ groups, which may require treatment in a hospital because they have a higher risk of developing serious complications. Each year, up to 1 in every 100 uk adults develops pneumonia in england and wales in 2017 over 27,000 adults died of pneumonia.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common cause of pneumonia in adults
Viruses and, infrequently, fungi as well as different types of bacteria such as haemophilus influenzae and staphylococcus aureus, can also cause pneumonia. Pneumoniae (pneumococcus) infections are responsible for approximately 37% of all hospitalised cases of community-acquired pneumonia.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a capsular gram-positive bacteria with more than 90 different serotypes.6 prevenar 13® will only protect against streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes included in the vaccine. Prevenar 13® does not provide 100% protection against vaccine.
Pneumococcal vaccination is therefore important to help protect individuals from community-acquired pneumonia.