Pneumococcal Vaccination Recommendations

Current Recommendations Based on Age and Risk Factors

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that pneumococcal vaccination is not routinely needed for healthy individuals under 65 years of age without risk factors for pneumococcal disease 1, 2
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) focuses pneumococcal vaccination recommendations on adults with underlying medical conditions and those aged ≥65 years 3, 4
All adults aged ≥65 years should receive a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine regardless of health status 2, 3
Options include either 20-valent PCV (PCV20), 21-valent PCV (PCV21), or 15-valent PCV (PCV15) followed by 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) 3, 4, 5
Adults aged 19-64 years with certain medical conditions, such as chronic heart, lung, or liver disease, diabetes mellitus, alcoholism, cigarette smoking, or immunocompromising conditions, should receive pneumococcal vaccination 1, 6

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 100,000 noninvasive pneumococcal pneumonia hospitalizations and 30,000 invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) cases occurred annually among U.S. adults 4
The risk for pneumococcal disease among healthy adults under 65 is significantly lower than in older adults or those with underlying conditions 1
Widespread use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in children has led to substantial indirect protection (herd immunity) for adults through reduced transmission of vaccine serotypes 1

Providers caring for patients with chronic medical conditions may consider offering pneumococcal vaccination to adults aged 50-64 years 1
Certain populations, such as persons residing in nursing homes or long-term care facilities, persons residing in settings with low pediatric PCV uptake, or persons traveling to settings with no pediatric PCV program, may be at higher risk of exposure to pneumococcal serotypes and might benefit from vaccination even if otherwise healthy 1

For healthy adults who turn 65, a single dose of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is recommended 2
Adverse events following vaccination should be reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) 1