Seniors aged 65 and older should consider getting vaccinated against pneumonia as well as the seasonal influenza strain, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend in a new report.
“It’s really important for people, especially those at high risk for the serious complications from influenza, to check with their provider when they get their influenza vaccine about being vaccinated against pneumococcus,” said Dr. Matthew Moore, epidemiologist with the CDC, in a statement released Wednesday.
Researchers say that many of the people in the U.S. who have died from the H1N1 strain of influenza had a bacterial co-infection, often caused by streptococcus pneumonia. While seniors may be at a lesser risk for contracting H1N1, they are typically the most vulnerable population when it comes to seasonal influenza, and the potential for a co-infection is still important to consider, according to the CDC. Each year, seasonal influenza kills roughly 36,000 people, 90% of whom are seniors, according to CDC statistics.
