Respiratory virus season has arrived, and hopefully you’re up to date on vaccinations that can help prevent infectious diseases including COVID, the flu, whooping cough, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). But are you protected against pneumonia, a common complication of each of the above illnesses?
If you haven’t received the pneumonia (pneumococcal) vaccine, you’re among the majority of Americans. Just one in four (25%) people at high risk of pneumococcal disease, an infection that causes pneumonia—children younger than 2, adults older than 64, and those with certain chronic health conditions such as diabetes—have been immunized. That’s according to a survey published last month by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).
