Pneumococcal Disease

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recently held two important meetings to review data on vaccines for influenza, hepatitis, pneumococcal disease, shingles, and other diseases, and to approve the new Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. Marla Dalton, executive director and CEO of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), talks with NFID Medical Director William Schaffner, MD, about the significance of these meetings for healthcare professionals and the public …

Pneumococcal disease is a leading cause of illness throughout the world, but there are safe and effective vaccines that can help prevent it

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US Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH joined medical/public health leaders at the annual NFID Influenza/Pneumococcal News Conference on September 27, 2018 to discuss the importance of preventing influenza (flu) and pneumococcal disease and to encourage all individuals age 6 months and older to get vaccinated against flu every year. Adams was joined by an expert panel, moderated by…

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On September 28, 2017, NFID hosted the 2017 Annual Influenza/Pneumococcal News Conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Partner organizations joined NFID to highlight the importance of annual flu vaccination for all individuals age six months and older.

Protecting public health requires new innovations such as developing life-saving vaccines as well as clearly-defined state and federal policies to help control the spread of disease. But public health also requires healthcare professionals and leaders dedicated to treating individual patients and sharing what they have learned through their experiences and research with the broader health community. In recognition of one such dedicated leader, NFID is proud to present the 2017 John P. Utz Leadership Award to Thomas M. File, Jr., MD.

There’s a disease that kills up to 18,000 US adults age 65 years and older each year. It can cause pneumonia, bloodstream infections (sepsis), meningitis, and ear and sinus infections. As many as 900,000 US adults contract it each year — 400,000 of whom require hospitalization. Pneumococcal disease is a serious concern for anyone over the age of 65, but there are safe and effective vaccines to help prevent it.

Similar to eating healthy foods, exercising, and getting regular check-ups, vaccines are vital in order to stay healthy, particularly for older adults. As you age, your immune system typically does not function as well as it used to, making older adults more susceptible to vaccine-preventable infectious diseases and serious complications.

Immunization is one of the 10 great public health successes of the 20th century. Through the use of vaccines, measles and rubella have been eliminated in the western hemisphere, polio has been eliminated from most of the world, and smallpox has been completely eradicated. However, while childhood vaccination rates are relatively high in the US, adult vaccination rates remain low.