THE BLUSTERY winter weather is currently serving as a reminder to the elderly and those with compromised immune systems to get their winter vaccinations.
For most people, the flu vaccine is what immediately springs to mind. What with the H1N1 flu pandemic last year, and pharmacists as well as GPs administering the HSE's seasonal flu vaccine this year, it is perhaps not surprising that the recent annual campaign launch for another very important vaccine - the pneumococcal vaccine - has been completely overshadowed.
Pneumococcal disease is a bacterial infection that can cause major illness, particularly among the very young, the very old and those with weakened immunity.
There are more than 90 different strains of the disease which can cause conditions such as sinusitis and ear infections at the milder end of the scale, right up to serious and potentially life-threatening infections of the lungs (pneumonia), brain (meningitis) and blood (septicaemia).
While the potential outcomes of serious flu are well known, few realise that pneumococcal disease causes about 200 deaths and thousands of preventable hospital admissions every year in Ireland.
A pneumococcal vaccine was introduced into the HSE's childhood vaccination schedule in 2008 and more than halved the cases of the disease in children under the age of two by the end of last year.
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee recommends that Irish people aged over 65, of which there are in excess of 400,000, and those whose health is compromised by conditions such as diabetes, chronic heart, lung or liver disease, sickle cell disease, should also receive the pneumococcal vaccine.
It is a once-off vaccine, but may need a booster for some after five years, and can be given at the same time as the annual flu vaccine.
Like the flu vaccine, the pneumococcal vaccine is available free of charge from GPs for at-risk groups.
However, despite the health threats posed by pneumococcal disease, just one in seven Irish people aged over 65 has been vaccinated to date.
Supporting the recent Seven Reasons You Should Know Pneumohealth campaign to promote pneumococcal disease vaccination, Dr Mick Molloy, an emergency medicine physician at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, stressed that pneumococcal disease can be very serious and the poor vaccine uptake needs to be addressed.
"People over 65 only require one dose of the pneumococcal vaccine, although people in some at-risk groups may require a one-off booster after five years.
"I would strongly recommend that people in these groups speak to their GP about pneumococcal vaccination, ideally when also receiving their annual flu vaccination," he said.
Dr Molloy said it was particularly tragic dealing with patients who died as a result of pneumococcal disease when it was preventable and added that he himself had been vaccinated as he is a diabetic, and therefore in the at-risk group.
Eamon Timmins, head of advocacy and communications for Age Action Ireland, has also urged those aged over 65 to talk to their GP about getting the pneumococcal vaccine this winter.
"People over the age of 65 are more vulnerable to many types of illness and Pneumococcal disease is one of them," he said.
"Age Action's fundamental goal is to make Ireland the best place in the world in which to grow old, and taking care of your health by availing of a potentially life-saving vaccine is a major part of this."
For further information and a full list of the at-risk groups recommended to receive the pneumococcal vaccination, visit oneinseven.ie
"