Pneumonia Awareness Week
This week (May 17-24, 2015) is Pneumonia Awareness Week and Lung Foundation Australia is urging all Australians aged 18 and above who are considered at-risk of contracting pneumonia, people aged 65 or older, and those eligible for a second vaccine after five years, to get immunised against the disease.
Pneumonia Awareness Week is designed to educate Australian adults to recognise the seriousness of pneumonia, and to ask their doctor how best to protect themselves from contracting pneumococcal pneumonia.
Respiratory physician and Lung Foundation Australia National Council member, Associate Professor Lucy Morgan, said 60 per cent of people aged 65-to-74 have not had a pneumococcal pneumonia vaccination despite the majority of this age group (59 per cent) carrying additional risk factors for infection, including smoking, diabetes or heart disease.
Pneumococcal vaccination is funded under the National Immunisation Program (NIP) for all Australians aged 65 and over, with many eligible for a second vaccine five years following their first dose.
