Children born in the last few years are now all vaccinated against pneumonia and pneumococcal disease. The vaccine used, Prevnar 13, protects children against the bacterial infections that cause meningitis, pneumonia and other diseases. The vaccine also protects against a virulent subtype of the streptococcus bacteria that has actually become resistant to antibiotics, and obviously having the vaccine then guards one against this. Meningitis is particularly dangerous, killing up to one in four people who get it and leaving many deaf. The vaccines also reduce many types of ear infections as well as sepsis for bloodstream infections.

Pneumovax 23 is a vaccine, that once the minor pain and soreness at the vaccination site is gone, protects adults against the same diseases, together with an additional 10 strains protecting one against most forms of pneumococcal bacteraemia. We are indeed fortunate that we live in times where more and more diseases can be successfully challenged, and that where some diseases have become antibiotic resistant, we can now have vaccines for them. Since the PPV23 vaccination has been made available, there has been a significant reduction in deaths in countries where it is widely used.