Community-acquired pneumonia represents a significant burden of morbidity and mortality, particularly among adults with chronic illnesses. Among the responsible agents, the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae<\/em> is the most frequent cause, followed by viruses, whose impact has been better understood since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pneumococcal vaccines, designed to prevent severe forms of the disease, come in two main types: polysaccharide vaccines and conjugate vaccines, which target different strains of this bacterium.<\/p>\n A recent study conducted in Spain between 2020 and 2024 evaluated the effectiveness of these vaccines in adults aged 18 to 64 with risk factors. The researchers compared 805 patients hospitalized for pneumonia with 806 patients hospitalized for other reasons, all of whom had underlying medical conditions. Participants were classified according to their vaccination status: polysaccharide vaccine only, conjugate vaccine only, sequential vaccination, or unvaccinated.<\/p>\n The results show that none of the tested vaccination strategies significantly reduced the risk of hospitalization for pneumonia. Among immunocompromised individuals, the polysaccharide vaccine was even associated with negative efficacy\u2014meaning an apparent increase in risk\u2014likely due to confounding bias: the most fragile patients, who are most likely to develop severe forms, are also the ones most often vaccinated.<\/p>\n This lack of protection could be explained by several factors. First, current vaccines do not cover all existing types of pneumococci\u2014more than 100 have been identified to date. Second, the pneumonias included in the study may have been caused by pathogens other than those targeted by the vaccines. Finally, the study period, marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, may have influenced the results, as public health measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing temporarily reduced the circulation of many respiratory viruses.<\/p>\n The researchers emphasize that, despite these disappointing results, vaccination remains an important tool, especially for very high-risk populations. They suggest considering optimized strategies, such as the use of broader-spectrum conjugate vaccines or better-adapted sequential vaccination schedules. However, current data do not confirm a clear benefit for adults under 65 with risk factors.<\/p>\n DOI:<\/strong> https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s41479-026-00201-6<\/a><\/p>\n Title:<\/strong> A multicentre case-control study about effectiveness of pneumococcal vaccination against pneumonia hospitalization in at-risk adults<\/p>\n Journal:<\/strong> Pneumonia<\/p>\n Publisher:<\/strong> Springer Science and Business Media LLC<\/p>\n Authors:<\/strong> Mar\u00eda Li\u00e9bana; Diana Toledo; N\u00faria Soldevila; Mar\u00eda Morales-Suarez-Varela; Concepci\u00f3n Prados-S\u00e1nchez; Amelia Fernandez-Sierra; Gemma Navarro; Vicente Mart\u00edn; Judith Chamorro; Mikel Egurrola; Marta Rodriguez-Su\u00e1rez; Angela Dom\u00ednguez; ; Mar\u00eda Li\u00e9bana; Diana Toledo; N\u00faria Soldevila; Mar\u00eda Morales-Suarez-Varela; Concepci\u00f3n Prados-S\u00e1nchez; Amelia Fernandez-Sierra; Gemma Navarro; Vicente Mart\u00edn; Judith Chamorro; Mikel Egurrola; Marta Rodriguez-Su\u00e1rez; Angela Dom\u00ednguez; Aurea Morillo; Raquel Valencia; M\u00aa Mar Rodr\u00edguez; Jos\u00e9 Antonio Mar\u00edn; Gerardo Rubiera; Tania Fern\u00e1ndez-Villa; Graciela L\u00f3pez-Mu\u00f1iz; Carmen Fern\u00e1ndez-Mart\u00ednez-de-Septien; Silvia Fern\u00e1ndez; Mar\u00eda Grau; N\u00faria Torner; Carles Vilaplana; Llu\u00eds Forcadell; Cristina Rius; Anna Vilella; Silvia Sim\u00f3-Nebot; Eva del Amo; Magda Campins; Xavier Mart\u00ednez; Jos\u00e9 Angel Rodrigo; Judith Mart\u00ednez; Ramon Boixeda; Julia Jaumandreu; Jenaro Astray; Alberto Mangas-Moro; Juan Carlos Gal\u00e1n; Amaranta McGee-Laso; Laura Moreno-Galarraga; Nerea D\u00edaz-S\u00e1nchez; Idaira Fernandez-Rodriguez; Cristina Llonch; Itziar Casado; Fernando Baigorria-Feltrin; Alba Gasque; Sara Marqu\u00ednez-Noriega; Patricia Garc\u00eda; Isabel Peraita-Costa; Francisco Sanz<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pneumococcal vaccines do not reduce pneumonia hospitalizations in at-risk adults Community-acquired pneumonia represents a significant burden of morbidity and mortality, particularly among adults with chronic illnesses. Among the responsible agents, the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most frequent cause, followed by viruses, whose impact has been better understood since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pneumococcal vaccines, designed… Continue reading Pneumococcal vaccines do not reduce pneumonia hospitalizations in at-risk adults<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-society","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/publichealthtribune.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/publichealthtribune.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/publichealthtribune.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publichealthtribune.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publichealthtribune.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/publichealthtribune.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44,"href":"https:\/\/publichealthtribune.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43\/revisions\/44"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/publichealthtribune.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publichealthtribune.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publichealthtribune.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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