If he has only had PPSV23 previously, and he is 50 or older, the recommendation is for him to get either PCV21, PCV20, or PCV15.
From this PDF: https://www.cdc.gov/pneumococcal/downloads/Vaccine-Timing-Adults-JobAid.pdf
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Good Lord. Why even get the PPSV23? Iām assuming that in the last few years much better vaccines came out?
If your husband was given PPSV23 in 2020, it was probably because it covered more serotypes than PCV13 (Prevnar 13) which I believe would have been the other vaccine available at the time.
PCV15 wasnāt approved until 2021, I believe, and the PCV20 and PCV21 are even newer.
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Thanks! Maybe he should wait a few years, who knows what will come out next? Heās only 61. Now I gotta check out what shot I got!
I got that from my daughter and was really sick for many weeks. Even once I felt okay enough to work, I still had fluid in my lungs. Some of the attendings at the hospital I worked at had their medical school students come by the ICU where I worked to listen to my ācrackles.ā
I wouldnāt recommend getting this type of pneumonia. When it first hit me, my whole body was wracked with pain and high fever. It took me a long time to feel completely recovered.
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I believe that pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) is simply more effective than pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV) in preventing pneumonia, and thatās why they are now recommending it.
Iām not a doctorā¦ but I think that if he had a reason to get PPSV23 in his 50s when it wasnāt universally recommended, he probably ought to at least consider getting some form of PCV now?
So for example hereās something from pubmed comparing PPSV23 with PCV13, which was more effective despite covering far fewer serotypes: Comparative effectiveness of individual pneumococcal vaccines with dual pneumococcal vaccination in older United States Veterans - PubMed
PCV 13 was associated with decreased risk of pneumococcal pneumonia (Adjusted HR 0.69; 95 % CI 0.51 to 0.93) and āotherā pneumonia (Adjusted HR 0.74; 95 % CI 0.64 to 0.86) when compared to PPSV 23. (ā¦) Dual vaccination was also associated with a decrease in the rate of pneumococcal pneumonia (Adjusted HR 0.88; 95 % CI 0.77 to 0.99; P = 0.03) and āotherā pneumonia (Adjusted HR 0.90; 95 % CI 0.85 to 0.95; P < 0.01) in comparison to PPSV 23.
Iām sure someone else can find better references, I only looked at a few of them and wasnāt very systematic 
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I started getting my pneumonia shots when I was 1st diagnosed with a very serious lung condition at age 42 and was getting an additional shot every 5 years. Iāve had walking pneumonia and other lung infections. So far, Iāve avoided the hospital but really canāt afford to lose any lung function. Will have to ask my lung docs if I am due for any more pneumonia shots on top of those weāve already taken recently.
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If they come out with something better, Iāll get it, but probably wait until my 60s. (Iām 52.) If I didnāt know better, Iād say I have the flu - minus respiratory symptoms and with a super sore arm. Ibuprofen and Tylenol barely takes the edge off. I didnāt used to react so strongly to vaccines. This blows, but feeling like this plus coughing (aka pneumonia) would be so much worse.
Though if they came out with something for the mycoplasma pneumonia I probably would get that sooner vs later. As I mentioned upthread; I had that for 3 months as a kid in the 70s. It was a very big deal then apparently.
Thatās a good point. Iāve been meaning to get around to it (already got shingles vac), so thanks for the kick in the pants! I just made the appointment for this afternoon!
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I think they gave him the vaccine in his fifties just because our insurance covered it, and it was in the depths of Covid, so we were paranoid as an be. Definitely worth asking his doctor about getting one of the newer ones, thank you for the information.
I just got the PCV20 a month ago. Hoping that one lasts awhile.
Iāve had mycoplasma pneumonia at least twice. It did take some time and lots of antibiotics to clear up. Even getting pneumonia shots is no GUARANTEE of not getting pneumonia but hopefully IF you get it, the case will be less severe & shorter.
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Iām wondering if Iām not developing an allergic response to whatever they put in vaccines. I never used to react badly, but sometimes over the last few years - after getting a bunch of the covid & flu shots, shingles, Tdap, and now pneumoniaā¦ my side effects are getting worse. I am allergic to everything alive, plus all pollens, dust, mold, etcā¦ but not food/drugs.
I felt really rough yesterday and was on Tylenol plus Advil round the clock. Took Nyquil at night and slept like the dead. Today Iām definitely improving, but I noticed after my shower, that my VERY SUPER SORE arm - as in I can barely put on a shirt/coat was all swollen, red, and itchy. My armpit on the shot side is also swollen. This happened after my last covid shot (Aug 2024) as well. Also, since yesterday my stomach has been sour because of PND. I donāt have any congestion in my head, itās just like goo keeps going to my stomach.
So I decided to take some Benedryl instead of Advil and I felt a lot better. Of course, when it wears off, it comes right back. I know this too shall pass, so Iām not terribly worried, but Iām wondering if after my next covid shot I should immediately take Benedryl.
What are the side effects of these vaccines? I have bad reactions to Shingles and had a horrible reaction to my 2nd Covid vaccin.
My experience with reactions to vaccines:
- COVID-19 (Janssen and Moderna): sore arm
- Shingrix: not feeling that great the next day
- MMR: nothing
- influenza (both egg and non-egg based): nothing
- Tdap: nothing
- PCV20: nothing or maybe a little soreness
Different vaccines may have different ingredients, so it is possible that you could have a reaction to an ingredient in one brand of vaccine but not another against the same disease. A well known example is that people with egg allergies may want to avoid egg based influenza vaccines in favor of non-egg based influenza vaccines.
Supposedly, for COVID-19 vaccines, the Novavax vaccine has a lower rate of unwanted effects.
Before PCV20 (and PCV15) became available in 2021, the PCV13 vaccine contained fewer serotypes, so people who got (for example) PCV13 may have also gotten PPSV23 to cover additional serotypes beyond those covered by PCV13. Even PCV13 is relatively new (from 2010), so people who got pneumonia vaccine before 2010 likely got PPSV23, which dates back to 1983.
The difference between PPSV23 and the PCV vaccines is that the PCV vaccines have the polysaccharides bound to CRM197, a non-toxic variant of the diphtheria toxin that increases immune response.
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Or before that, the PPSV14 (Pneumovax 14)ā¦
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Personally, Iāve had maybe 6 or more different pneumonia shots, countless covid boosters, shingrex & the other shingles shot, flu shots and whatever other shots have been recommended. My worst side effects have been an occasional sore arm on arm injected that lasts 24-36 hours. H on the other hand sometimes has flu-like symptoms for 24-48 hours and/or sometimes a sore arm. His side effects have always been more marked than mine.
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And here I sit 4 days post shot wondering how and why it all changed for me. I used to also be able to proudly boast that shots had zero to minimal effect on me. When did it change?
I really think it changed when I got Covid 2 years ago. I swear my allergies that were under control or predictable for 10-15 years just went haywire for months, almost a year even. I remember the vaccine following that turned my shoulder bright red and had worse side effects that lasted several days. And the one in the fall even more so, similar to what Iām experiencing now.
5 days later and my arm (and armpit/glands) is still swollen and sore, though significantly less so. Itās still pink and very itchy, though itās fading and now spread down around my bicep to my elbow. The body aches and headaches are improving, but today might be the first day I havenāt had an episode of that. And canāt forget the night sweats. The last two nights Iāve sweat so much in my 60 degree bedroom that my palms are waterlogged when I wake up.
This didnāt use to be me. I want the old me back. P.S and Iām thanking God that I got my MMR booster in 2014 before I wound up like this. Right now Iām not sure Iād get it
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Are you menopausal yet? If not, perimenopause is a terrible thing that can wreak havoc on the body. Add long covid, and all bets are off. So sorry you have such a rough time.
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Probably perimenopausal. Never formally tested, though I am 52. Life started changing for the worse in that department in my mid 30s. At the rate Iām going Iāll probably be 70 before Iām actually through it all. So that could be contributing too. Ahh the joys of life. Youth is wasted on the young
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