Quote:
Originally Posted by John_W
In 2015 I got an pneumonia shot that was good for ten years. In 2016 I got pneumonia that lasted about two months. It had gone away and then returned, I had to eventually go to a pulmonary doctor.
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Your post wrongly suggests that the shot you got failed to protect you. Common error. The pneumonia shot you were given protects you against one of the most common bacteria that can cause pneumonia [pneumococcus]. There are two different Prevnar vaccines, one against 13 strains based on those strains which were found to cause disease in children, and Prevnar 23 based on those in adults. Both are recommended for those over 65. So you were protected against certain strains on pneumococcus and only those strains.
There are 100's of different bacteria, viruses, and other organisms and chemicals that can and do cause pneumonia. In fact pneumococcus causes a fraction of clinical pneumonias but can be a serious cause. So the vaccine did not fail you, rather you likely were infected with one of the 100's of other agents causing pneumonia.
Think of it this way. Say we have a vaccine to prevent dog bites from pit bulls. It is well known that pit bulls are a serious cause of human bite injuries. And even if that vaccine works well it will not protect you from bites from poodles, shepherds …..