Vaccinations: What People With Ra Need To Know
The bottom line is that you should know what vaccinations you need and bring those needs to the attention of one of your doctors. You can request that your doctor evaluate your vaccination status, but its still in your best interest to know the recommendations regarding RA.
Here’s a cheat sheet on whats recommended:
Doctors Support The Change
Richard Watkins, MD, an infectious disease physician and a professor of internal medicine at the Northeast Ohio Medical University, tells Verywell that there was never any compelling evidence for the previous recommendation, adding, I am glad it has been changed.
Watkins says that the move may help more children get vaccinated, noting the convenience factor. Under the updated guidance, families only have to make one trip to get vaccinated instead of several under the previous recommendations, he says.
John Schreiber, MD, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, tells Verywell that the changed guidance seems like a reasonable thing to do.
Schreiber anticipates that some parents may still be wary to give their children other vaccines at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccine, but say that new recommendations are sound.
I dont have any concerns with this, Schreiber says. But, he adds, the CDC and AAP will monitor children to see what happens next. If it turns out that children are complaining about more side effects after getting vaccinated, Im sure the recommendations can be modified.”
The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit our coronavirus news page.
Do The Pneumonia Vaccines Work
The pneumococcal vaccines are very effective at preventing pneumonia and other pneumococcal diseases in both adults and children. In one large study of over 84,000 adults aged 65 and older, those who received PCV13 were less likely to get pneumococcal pneumonia than were those who received a placebo shot. The vaccine protected about 45% of vaccinated people from getting pneumonia and about 75% from getting an invasive pneumococcal disease. Invasive pneumococcal disease is the most serious type and can be life-threatening.
PPSV23 is also effective and protects at least 50% of vaccinated, healthy adults from invasive pneumococcal infections.
In children, PCV13 has decreased the amount of invasive pneumococcal disease. According to the CDC, PCV13 prevented about 30,000 cases of invasive disease in the first 3 years it was available.
Getting the vaccine not only protects you from getting pneumonia and other types of pneumococcal disease, but also protects vulnerable people around you who cant get vaccinated.
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Questions To Ask Your Doctor
- When should I make an appointment to get each type of pneumococcal vaccine?
- Should I still get the vaccines if Ive recently had pneumonia?
- Should I wait to turn 65 before I get each dose of pneumococcal vaccines?
- If I have a negative reaction to one type of pneumococcal vaccine, am I likely to have that same reaction to the other?
Funding was provided for these pneumococcal resources through an unrestricted grant from Pfizer Independent Grant for Learning and Change .
Know The Facts About The Pneumonia Vaccine
Just as with a flu shot, and now the COVID-19 vaccines, some people believe that getting a pneumococcal vaccine will cause them to come down with the disease or experience long-term side effects.
This is absolutely not true, Dr. Suri says.
Not only will the pneumococcal vaccine help reduce the risk of contracting certain types of bacterial pneumonia, it also guards against serious consequences resulting from the flu and severe infections, such as .
For young children, older adults, smokers and those with other risk factors, the vaccine is a healthy choice to make.
I cant see any reason to avoid this vaccine and every reason to get it, she says.
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Should You Get A Flu Shot
In general, every person with diabetes needs a flu shot each year. Talk with your doctor about having a flu shot. Flu shots do not give 100% protection, but they do make it less likely for you to catch the flu for about six months.
For extra safety, it’s a good idea for the people you live with or spend a lot of time with to get a flu shot, too. You are less likely to get the flu if the people around you don’t have it.
The best time to get your flu shot is beginning in September. The shot takes about two weeks to take effect.
If youre sick , ask if you should wait until you are healthy again before having your flu shot. And don’t get a flu shot if you are allergic to eggs.
You are advised to continue to take the general precautions of preventing seasonal flu and other communicable illnesses and diseases:
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash. If you dont have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hand.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread that way.
- Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
- If you get sick, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
What Does Covid Look Like After Being Vaccinated
The PCR tests we use to detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are very sensitive and can detect a positive case even if you have low levels of the virus in your system. This means a person can test positive for SARS-CoV-2 but still not have symptoms of COVID-19.
Of those vaccinated people who have reported symptoms, the vast majority report mild ones, with a shorter duration.
There is always a chance a vaccinated person could pass the virus onto a non-vaccinated person without having symptoms themselves.
But vaccinated people who develop COVID-19 will likely have a lower viral load than unvaccinated people, meaning theyre less likely to spread the virus.
One study estimated those who were vaccinated with either Pfizer or AstraZeneca were 50% less likely to pass it on to an unvaccinated household contact than someone who wasnt vaccinated. This transmission will likely reduce again if both household members are vaccinated.
But if youre not vaccinated and contract COVID-19, youre much more likely to spread the virus.
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Your Risk Of Getting Pneumonia Depends On Your Age
Anyone can get pneumonia, but the risk is higher in children ages 18 and younger and adults older than 65 because both populations have compromised immune systems. Kids immune systems have not fully developed. And because our immune systems weaken with age, seniors have a harder time fighting off infections like pneumonia.
If you suffer from a chronic condition such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , you are also at an increased risk of getting pneumonia.
Here’s Who Should Not Get The Vaccine Says The Fda
You may have heard that a small number of people had severe allergic reactions to the Pfizer vaccine. “Severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, have been reported following administration of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine during mass vaccination outside of the clinical trial setting,” says the FDA. Therefore: “You should not get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine if you:
- had a severe allergic reaction after a previous dose of this vaccine
- had a severe allergic reaction to any ingredient of this vaccine.”
“What the Pfizer people are saying is that if you have a history of a severe allergic reaction, you should either not take this vaccine, or if you do take it, take it in the context of a place where if you do develop an allergic reaction, it could be readily and effectively treated,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci in a CNBC Healthy Returns Livestream. Keep reading to see what exactly is in the vaccine, to see if you might be allergic.
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Arent Antibodies Enough To Protect Me
If youve already had COVID-19, arent the antibodies your body built up to fight the virus enough to protect you in the future?
We dont know how long your immunity will last after youve had a natural COVID-19 infection, says Dr. Englund.
She says recent research focused on how long immunity lasts after having COVID-19 is unclear, and scientists believe it could be up to eight months. But, she clarifies: The study to determine that information included only 200 patients, so theres not a whole lot of data yet. And the best way to ensure youre protected is to get vaccinated.
Dr. Englund notes that for those whove had COVID-19 and have long haul symptoms , getting the vaccine seems to help them finally recover from those lasting symptoms.
If you have long COVID-19 at this point in time, please consider getting the vaccine, Dr. Englund urges. It is not going to make you worse and theres a small chance that it might actually make you feel better.
Lower Your Risk By Getting Vaccinated
In the United States, vaccines can help prevent infection by some of the bacteria and viruses that can cause pneumonia:
These vaccines are safe, but side effects can occur. Most side effects are mild and go away on their own within a few days. See the vaccine information statements to learn more about common side effects. Learn more about COVID-19 vaccines side effects.
Encourage friends and loved ones to make sure they are up to date with their vaccines.
World Pneumonia Dayexternal icon is observed each year on November 12th. Globally, pneumonia kills more than 670,000 children younger than 5 years old each year. This is greater than the number of deaths from any infectious disease, such as HIV infection, malaria, or tuberculosis.
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Don’t Get Other Vaccines Around The Same Time You Get The Covid
For those people who have already started receiving the COVID-19 vaccine or plan to in the coming months, Purvi Parikh, MD, an immunologist with Allergy & Asthma Network, says you should not get other vaccines like the flu, pneumonia, or shingles shots soon after or beforehand. Here’s what you need to know.
Dr. Parikh, who is also a co-investigator on COVID-19 vaccine trials at NYU, told POPSUGAR that there are still unknowns when it comes to following COVID-19 vaccines with other shots or vice versa, following other shots with the COVID-19 vaccine. In COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, she said that people were told to separate any other vaccines by four weeks. The current recommendation, she said, is spacing them out by at least two weeks. And the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention states that if someone receives the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine within 14 days of another shot, that person does not need to restart .
“Let’s say you got the pneumonia shot or the shingles shot today, then we would say wait two weeks to get the COVID-19 shot,” Dr. Parikh noted. This is simply for precautionary measures, and she did add that more research may reveal it’s fine to get different vaccines in the same week or, she said, even the same day. “In general though, we always recommend at least for adults to do vaccines on separate days, because let’s say you do have a reaction, then you won’t know what vaccine caused it,” she explained.
What About Future Variants
So far, the preliminary data shows our current vaccines are effective at protecting against circulating variants.
But as the virus mutates, there is increasing chance of viral escape. This means there is a greater chance the virus will develop mutations that make it fitter against, or more easily able to evade, vaccinations.
Scientist are closely monitoring to ensure our current and/or future vaccines are effective against the circulating strains.
To help the fight against COVID-19 the best thing we can do is minimise the spread of the virus. This means get vaccinated when you can, ensure you maintain social distancing when required and get tested if you have any symptoms.
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Who Should Have The Pneumococcal Vaccine
Anyone can get a pneumococcal infection. But some people are at higher risk of serious illness, so it’s recommended they’re given the pneumococcal vaccination on the NHS.
These include:
- babies
- adults aged 65 or over
- children and adults with certain long-term health conditions, such as a serious heart or kidney condition
Babies are offered 2 doses of pneumococcal vaccine, at 12 weeks and at 1 year of age.
People aged 65 and over only need a single pneumococcal vaccination. This vaccine is not given annually like the flu jab.
If you have a long-term health condition you may only need a single, one-off pneumococcal vaccination, or a vaccination every 5 years, depending on your underlying health problem.
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Q. Do people living alone need to wash their hands as often or disinfect their home as often as those who live together?
A. For people who live alone the risk is much lower. You will only be exposed to the virus if someone brings it to your home, such as a visitor or a delivery.
So the need to wash your hands is less but you still need to do it if you are handling post, for example, or even stroking your neighbours cat or dog.
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Here’s When You Should Not Get The Covid Vaccine
If there’s a chance you have COVID, however, then it’s a different story. If you are having upper respiratory symptoms, the first thing you should do is get tested for COVID-19, Dr. Mandal says. For one thing, if you do have COVID or are awaiting test results, you should immediately self-isolate, and definitely shouldn’t expose the person giving you the shot. For another, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a Jan. 6 C-span interview that you should wait three months to get the COVID vaccine if you have already had the virus. The theory is that waiting would prevent interference between naturally occurring antibodies and the ones the vaccine triggers.
âIf you currently have the virus, then getting vaccinated will not be immediately helpful as the body takes time to mount an immune response,â says Dr. Eudene Harry, MD, a board-certified emergency medicine physician in Orlando, Florida. âIf you have recently received flu or any other vaccinations, then it is recommended by the CDC that you wait to receive COVID vaccine at least 14 days.â In any case, if you have had COVID-19, it is still recommended that you eventually receive the vaccine, as it is still unclear how long immunity from infection lasts, Dr. Harry says.
Experts:
How The Pneumococcal Vaccine Works
Both types of pneumococcal vaccine encourage your body to produce antibodies against pneumococcal bacteria.
Antibodies are proteins produced by the body to neutralise or destroy disease-carrying organisms and toxins.
They protect you from becoming ill if you’re infected with the bacteria.
More than 90 different strains of the pneumococcal bacterium have been identified, although most of these strains do not cause serious infections.
The childhood vaccine protects against 13 strains of the pneumococcal bacterium, while the adult vaccine protects against 23 strains.
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What Are The Possible Side Effects Of Pcv And Ppsv Vaccines
Kids may have redness, tenderness, or swelling where the shot was given. A child also might have a fever after getting the shot. There is a very small chance of an allergic reaction with any vaccine.
The pneumococcal vaccines contain only a small piece of the germ and so cannot cause pneumococcal disease.
Will Being Vaccinated Against Flu Pneumonia And Shingles Help Prevent Covid
The short answer is no. But reducing your risk for getting sick with the flu, pneumonia, or shingles which is what these vaccines do makes a lot of sense during the pandemic, Privor-Dumm says.
Lowering your risk for vaccine-preventable diseases will help you avoid doctors offices and hospitals, which will reduce any potential exposure to the coronavirus, Privor-Dumm adds.
Plus, Privor-Dumm says, Preventing serious disease can help keep you out of the hospital at a time when health resources may be needed to treat COVID-19 patients.
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Whats The Difference Between Pcv13 And Ppsv23
| PCV13 | |
| helps protect you against 13 different strains of pneumococcal bacteria | helps protect you against 23 different strains of pneumococcal bacteria |
| usually given four separate times to children under two | generally given once to anyone over 64 |
| generally given only once to adults older than 64 or adults older than 19 if they have an immune condition | given to anyone over 19 who regularly smokes nicotine products like cigarettes or cigars |
- Both vaccines help prevent pneumococcal complications like bacteremia and meningitis.
- Youll need more than one pneumonia shot during your lifetime. A 2016 study found that, if youre over 64, receiving both the PCV13 shot and the PPSV23 shot provide the best protection against all the strains of bacteria that cause pneumonia.
- Dont get the shots too close together. Youll need to wait about a year in between each shot.
- Check with your doctor to make sure youre not allergic to any of the ingredients used to make these vaccines before getting either shot.
- a vaccine made with diphtheria toxoid
- another version of the shot called PCV7
- any previous injections of a pneumonia shot
- are allergic to any ingredients in the shot
- have had severe allergies to a PPSV23 shot in the past
- are very sick