Covid-19 vaccines continue to make headlines around the country, but it’s important to make sure you are also up to date with all other recommended vaccines for your age. Here’s a look at the two most recent vaccine updates from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which is made up of medical and public health experts who provide advice and guidance to the CDC. The updated recommendations are based on the latest scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness.
If you are a candidate for these vaccines but have not yet received them, your health care provider should discuss them with you—if not, ask about them.
Hepatitis B vaccine
In April 2022, the ACIP advised that all infants, unvaccinated children younger than 19, all adults ages 19 to 59, and adults 60 and older with risk factors for hepatitis B should get the hepatitis B (HepB) vaccine series. Adults 60 and older without known risk factors may receive the vaccination. (The previous recommendation was to vaccinate adults 19 to 59 only if they had risk factors; the new recommendation is for everyone in that age group to be vaccinated regardless of risk factors.) The HepB vaccine is a series of two to four doses, depending on your age and health status.
Hepatitis B, a form of communicable liver disease that is preventable with vaccination, is transmitted in semen, blood, and other bodily fluids, usually through unprotected sex or shared needles. It can also pass from an infected mother to her fetus. Acute symptoms of the disease, when they occur, are often mild, but people with chronic infection typically don’t have symptoms until they develop liver cancer or cirrhosis many years later.
Risk factors for hepatitis B include (but are not limited to) having multiple sex partners or an infected sex partner, being a man who has sex with men, being an injection drug user, or frequently traveling to high-risk areas. The CDC lists the risk factors for hepatitis B here.
Pneumococcal vaccine
In October 2021, the ACIP simplified its recommendations for vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae, the most common bacterial cause of pneumonia in older people. Previously, adults were advised to receive two different types of pneumococcal vaccines—PPSV23 (Pneumovax 23) plus PCV13 (Prevnar 13)—with the doses and intervals varying by age and risk group. The updated recommendation is for all adults ages 65 and older and those ages 19 to 64 with certain chronic conditions—who have not yet been vaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown—to get either the new PCV15 (Vaxneuvance) vaccine (followed by PPSV23 at least a year after) or the new PCV20 (Prevnar 200) vaccine alone.
PCV15 and PCV20 were approved by the FDA in 2021 and protect against 15 and 20 different serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae, respectively. Though PCV15 and PCV20 (conjugate vaccines) cover fewer serotypes than PPSV23 (a polysaccharide vaccine), they provide better protection.
According to the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from January 28, 2022, which published the updated recommendations, “The new policy simplifies adult pneumococcal vaccine recommendations and is expected to improve vaccine coverage among adults and prevent more pneumococcal disease.” But if you have received a prior pneumococcal vaccine, the guidelines still get a little complicated, and you should get guidance from your doctor.
Acute pneumococcal disease most commonly affects the lungs, resulting in coughing, shortness of breath, and other symptoms. But it can also affect other sites, including the central nervous system (it is the most common bacterial cause of meningitis). Though the disease is treatable with antibiotics, some of the bacterial strains are resistant to several antibiotics, which makes getting vaccinated even more prudent.
