MDS Alert

INFECTION CONTROL:

Immunocompromised Residents Need A Booster Dose Of Pneumococcal Vaccine

Watch out for residents with these conditions.

Here's one list you'll want to have close at hand when you evaluate a resident's vaccination status. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention recommends a second (booster) dose of pneumococcal vaccine for individuals who are immunocompromised due to:

• A damaged spleen or no spleen

• Sickle-cell disease

• HIV infections or AIDS

• Cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma

• Kidney failure

• Nephrotic syndrome

• History of an organ or bone transplant

• Medication regimens that lower immunity (such as chemotherapy or long-term steroids)

When any of the above conditions are present, persons older than 10 years (including those 65 years of age and older) should get the second (booster) dose five years after the first dose. Children 10 years old and younger may get this second (booster) dose three years after the first dose.

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