Pneumococcal Vaccine

Pneumococcal disease is a very serious disease. It is a major cause of illness and death, particularly amongst the very young. Those with the following conditions should be vaccinated with PPV23.

​Everybody aged 65 years and over and everybody aged 2 years and over with ;

• Diabetes

• Chronic lung, heart, liver, or kidney disease

• Chronic neurological disease

• Children aged over 2 years and under 5 years of age with a history of invasive pneumococcal disease

• Coeliac disease

• Down Syndrome

• Cochlear implants or are about to get cochlear implants

• Immune deficiency because of a disease or treatment, including cancer patients

• HIV infection

• Absent spleen or a non-functioning spleen

• CSF leaks, either congenital or complicating skull fractures or neurosurgery

• Intracranial shunt.

PPV23 vaccination is not recommended for healthy children and adults as they are at low risk of pneumococcal disease​

This content of this page (and links to other sites) is for general information purposes only and does not substitute medical advice. While we endeavour to keep this website up-to-date, errors may occur. We advise all patients to discuss their health concerns with their GP. If you would like to suggest amendments or highlight new information that could be useful to others please don’t hesitate to get in touch.