“Pneumococcal vaccination is important for postmenopausal women with weakened immunity due to hormonal changes.”
Professor Isara of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Asan Medical Center, Seoul On the 26th, at the Vxpert webinar held on the 26th, “85.8% of pneumococcal infections in Korea occur in people aged 50 or older.” “Pneumococcus is the most common cause of community-acquired pneumonia in Korean adults. In addition to uniformity, even if it leads to pneumococcal meningitis, even if it survives, it can leave neurological sequelae such as cranial nerve paralysis (16-28%) and local brain defects (22-44%), so special attention is required for vaccination.” did.
Professor Isara said, “Recently, the Korean Menopause Society emphasizes the importance of pneumococcal vaccination as a vaccination target disease that is emphasized in postmenopausal women. told
According to the Korean menopausal women survey, the average age of menopause in Korea is known to be about 50 years old. Postmenopausal women are at risk of infection due to reduced immunity due to hormonal abnormalities and complications such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, and cerebrovascular disease due to age increase. this is high
For this reason, it is important for female patients who have entered menopause to be aware of infectious diseases that can sufficiently expect immunity through vaccination and to take vaccinations.
Among them, pneumococcal infection is a class 2 legal infectious disease that requires notification and isolation within 24 hours when an outbreak or epidemic occurs in consideration of the possibility of transmission.
In addition, special attention is required because pneumococci can cause invasive diseases by penetrating into the blood or meninges as well as pneumonia. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the cumulative number of cases of pneumococcal infection in Korea over the past five years (2017-2021) was about 2.3 times higher in those aged 50-59 than in those aged 40-49.
The Korean Menopause Society recommends pneumococcal vaccination in postmenopausal women through the ‘Vaccination Schedule for Menopausal Women’ published in April.
According to the vaccination schedule, after confirming the past vaccination records for those aged 40 to 64 years, the 13-valent conjugate vaccine and the 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine are sequentially inoculated at intervals of 1 year, and if the 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine has already been vaccinated, 1 After the age of 65, the 13-valent conjugate vaccine should be vaccinated, and the 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine should be revaccinated every 5 years after the age of 65.
