Study: Pneumococcal Vaccine for Middle-aged and Older Adults Increases Risk for Pneumonia and Death

Medical professionals from Spain have just published a study (April 2018) on the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) that is routinely given to older adults to protect against pneumonia. The study was published in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases. The medical researchers in Spain conducted the study to determine if the vaccine was effective or not in preventing hospitalization from pneumonia. The study was a population-based cohort study that looked at over two million people over the age of 50 residing in Catalonia, Spain. They looked at both vaccinated and unvaccinated adults, noting those who were hospitalized for pneumonia and those who died from any cause. The results of their study concluded that not only did the PCV13 vaccine not reduce the risk of pneumonia, it actually increased the risk among those vaccinated: "In this study, the large differences in outcomes between PCV13 vaccinated and unvaccinated suggest that vaccinated persons were sicker." The study also found that the mortality rate was 60% higher in the vaccinated population (5,944 per 100,000) than in the unvaccinated population (2,354 per 100,000).