The pneumonia vaccine was tested on young healthy people in the 1970s. Today, doctors in Ontario say the vaccine is not very effective for the elderly. However, vaccination campaigns target people who are 65 and over.
Dr. Jennie Johnstone says: "It’s a vaccine that is recommended for older people aged 65 and over, and people with other risk factors, but we know that with age, the immune response to the vaccine also decreases."
Dr. Johnstone and her team at McMaster University followed 2,950 patients admitted to an Edmonton hospital with pneumonia. One-third of patients was on average 68 years old and had received the pneumonia vaccine.
Around 50% of the patients died within five years of contracting pneumonia, whether they had received the vaccine or not.
For now, data is too insufficient to question the effectiveness of vaccination campaigns. For lack of a better treatment or a better vaccine, it is still recommended that people over 65 continue to be vaccinated against pneumonia.