For most people, the answer is simple: just once, shortly after
you turn 65. But there are exceptions. To explain, lets go over
the pneumonia vaccination, and what it does. Pneumonia is an
infection of the lungs that can be caused by many different
kinds of germs. One of the most common causes of pneumonia is
the germ called pneumococcus. Before antibiotics and vaccines,
pneumonia caused by pneumococcus was a common cause of death.
Pneumococcus also can cause serious infection in other parts of
the body, including the brain (meningitis) and the blood
(bacteremia). There are many different strains of this germ that
can cause pneumonia. The Pneumovax 23 vaccine protects you
against the 23 most common and serious strains that cause
pneumonia. Roughly 90% of all cases of pneumonia from
pneumococcus are caused by one of these 23 strains. There is no
doubt that this vaccine protects against serious, life-
threatening infections of the brain and blood. Ironically, there
still is controversy as to whether it lowers th