if you already have the pneumococcal vaccine is there still a possibility of having PNEUMONIA in the future?

Question

can you give statistics and recommended references both internet and books? i had a patient who already had the vaccine but still acquired pneumonia. he also have bronchial asthma. Any ideas?

im a student nurse and i need to know because my patient said he had the pneumococcal vaccine but he still had pneumonia. he's 8 yrs old, male and also has a history of bronchial asthma.

Answer 1

Aren't there different microorganisms? I find it hard to believe one vaccine could vaccinate against all different kinds of pneumonococci.

Answer 2

Yes, you certainly can still get Pneumonia. The Pneumococcal Pneumonia vaccine is only for that strain of bacteria which causes the most lethal pneumonia. There are large number organisms which could cause an infection.

As a nursing student, you should be taking Microbiology which will help you to understand these organisms, as well as the treatments for them.

Answer 3

yup, I used to get it three times a year even after I had the shot. The vaccine only helps prevent theviral type of pneumonia. I moved from Ontario to Alberta, and haven't had pneumonia in 5 years and I haven't had to use my inhalers in 4 years except hen there was a fire! a dry climate helps with lung problems

Answer 4

hi, you can still get pneumonia it just stops you from developing any serious complications from the infection. if you do get pneumonia now that you have had the jab you will probably be fine to take a few antibiotics at home
but always see your gp if u feel ill just in case its something else

Answer 5

This is a good place to start your research.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pneumonia.html
also
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/VIS/vis-ppv.pdf