Winchester Offering Prevnar 13 Pneumonia Shots

WINCHESTER, MA—The Winchester Board of Health is now offering 50 doses of Prevnar 13 pneumonia shots to residents age 65 and older.

The town made the announcement Tuesday, which can be found below:

The Winchester Board of Health is pleased to offer 50 doses of the newly recommended Prevnar 13 pneumonia shot to Winchester residents age 65 and older. The Health Department encourages all to take advantage of this important program.

Pneumococcal disease is caused by a bacteria that can spread from person to person through close contact and can cause serious disease of the lungs, (pneumonia), blood, and covering of the brain (meningitis). Anyone can get pneumococcal disease, but adults 65 years and older, people with certain medical conditions, and cigarette smokers are at the highest risk. About 18,000 older adults die of pneumococcal disease each year in the United States.

For many years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that adults 65 years and older get one pneumonia shot, the Pneumovax 23, which offers protection against 23 different types of pneumococcal bacteria. In August 2014, the CDC changed that recommendation to also include Prevnar 13, a vaccine that protects against 1 additional serious pneumococcal bacteria. Only one dose of each kind of pneumonia shot is needed after age 65, but the two shots must be separated by at least one year to be reimbursed by Medicare.

The cost of Prevnar 13 is covered by Medicare Part B and most other insurances. If not covered, the cost is $160. Please note, if your primary health insurance is United Health Care (or United combination cards i.e. United/Harvard Pilgrim), Humana, or Aetna, the cost of the vaccine is not covered in a Board of Health setting.

To make an appointment in the Board of Health office for a Prevnar 13 shot, call Kathy Whittaker RN, Public Health Nurse at 781-721-7121.