Pneumococcal push
May 27, 2010
HEALTH professionals are being
urged to make sure that patients
aged 70 have a booster under the
National Pneumococcal
Vaccination Program for Older
Australians, which commenced in
Jan 2005.
There was a strong uptake for the
program that year, with about
800,000 eligible patients
immunised - who are all now due
for revaccination five years later.
Dr Greg Rowles, who’s the
Australian General Practice
Network representative on the
National Immunisation Committee,
told PD there’s a “big role for
pharmacists” in reminding patients
about the booster.
The pneumococcal vaccine is free
for people aged over 65, and also
for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islanders aged over 50.
It’s also recommended, and PBSfunded,
for people aged 15-64
deemed to be “medical at risk”
with conditions such as COPD,
heart disease or diabetes.
Children are also vaccinated
against pneumococcal disease as
part of infant immunisation.
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