Pneumonia is an infection that causes inflammation along with collection of fluid or pus within the lung tissue. This in turn can result in symptoms like cough, chest pain, and fever, brown, yellow or green colored sputum, chills and shortness of breath among others. With a help of pneumonia shot people can protect themselves from this condition.

Any person can get this condition but some people are more at risk at suffering from this condition as compared to others. These include individuals older than 65 years of age and those having suppressed or compromised immune systems. Children below the age of 2 and individuals suffering from lung or heart diseases are also at a greater risk of suffering from pneumonia. Alcoholics and those having diabetes, HIV and those suffering from kidney failure are also at a risk. These individuals can benefit from getting a pneumonia shot.

The pneumonia shot which is a vaccine protects individuals from 23 forms of pneumonia. Penicillin used to a very effective medicine for treating pneumonia in earlier times. However with time the disease mutated and now has become more resistant to many modern antibiotics. It is therefore important for individuals to take benefit of the vaccination.

Individuals in the high risk bracket should take benefit of the pneumonia shot. Children who are under the age of 2 years should be vaccinated with Prevnar and this should be done four times before the 2nd birthday. For adults only one dose of the vaccine is enough. Those individuals who should receive this vaccine include individuals whose spleen is damaged or those who do not have spleen.

Individuals having cancer or sickle cell disease as well as those suffering from HIV and kidney failure should also get a pneumonia shot. Those having undergone a bone marrow transplant or organ transplant should also be vaccinated. Likewise those undergoing chemotherapy or steroid therapy and those taking immunity suppressing drugs should also be vaccinated.

A child under the age of 10 years may get a second dose 3 years after the initial dose and those over the age of 10 can get the second dose 5 years after the initial one. The side effects of a pneumonia shot are quite mild and this is an entirely safe vaccine. The side effects that may be observed include redness and pain at the site of the injection, muscle aches and fever. In some rare cases however severe allergic reactions were reported.

It is advisable for individuals to get a pneumonia shot before the age of 65 years or anytime after 50. This is because the results are better the younger the individuals are. The vaccine grants protection from around 88% of pneumococcal bacteria that are responsible for causing pneumonia. The vaccine is not made from the bacteria but from bacterial component and this is not infectious. It is crucial for people over the age of 65 to get this vaccine because around 20 to 30% individuals in this group get pneumonia that may progress to bacteremia resulting in eventual death.