In the UK, millions of senior citizens have been vaccinated against pneumonia with pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines (PPVs). However, according to researchers, giving vaccinations to older people for an infection which causes pneumonia is a waste of time.
The largest review yet into efficacy of the vaccine found that it does not cut the risk of pneumonia in people aged 65 and over. The review looked at 22 trials from several countries, involving more than 100,000 people. However, unlike some similar reviews, this one also investigated why different studies had produced different results.
They found only high quality studies produced reliable results, and all of those studies failed to find any evidence that this kind of vaccine could prevent pneumonia. Those who received PPVs were not less likely to contract pneumonia, and they made little difference in the risk of death.