All old people to have pneumococcal immunisation
Old people are to be targeted in a new pneumococcal immunisation campaign to be rolled out over three years, the Department of Health has announced.
This follows a recommendation from the Joint Committee on Vaccination
and Immunisation that all people aged 65 years and over should be vaccinated
against pneumococcal disease. Initially, all people aged 80 years and
over will be offered vaccination with the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide
vaccine, starting from 20 August. This will be followed by all those
aged 75 years and over from April 2004 and all those aged 65 years and
over from April 2005.
The DoH has suggested offering pneumococcal vaccination at the same time
as influenza vaccination, the policy for which remains unchanged for
2003-04.
Supplies of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine can be ordered directly
from Pasteur Merieux MSD.
Re-immunisation with polysaccharide vaccine is not generally recommended. |
