Lifesaving opportunities missed: the challenge of vaccinating older Americans for pneumococcal diseases and influenza.

Pneumonia and influenza together represent the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. 2 Approximately 90 percent of those who die due to these conditions are persons age 65 and older. 4 Vaccines, however, are available against both of these diseases. The pneumococcal vaccination, for pneumonia and other diseases caused by the same bacteria, is a one-time intervention in most cases; the influenza vaccine must be repeated each year to be effective for the annual “flu season.”