Pneumococcal Vaccination Significantly Reduces IPD Mortality

By highlighting circulating serotypes in invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) cases, researchers uncovered the significant importance of vaccination to avoid in-hospital mortality risk, according to a study published in Infectious Diseases Now.¹ The importance of increased pharmacist roles and attention toward public health are underscored by a continued incidence of low vaccination rates among adults with IPD.

“The most effective primary prevention strategy against pneumococcus is vaccination, which decreases the incidence rates of vaccinal serotypes and lowers antibiotic resistance,” wrote the authors of the study. “The aim of this study was to analyze the pneumococcal serotypes in patients having required hospital assistance due to IPD in Spain from 2015 to 2024, their characteristics, patients’ history of pneumococcal vaccination, and the prognostic factors associated with in-hospital mortality.”

The 9-year multicenter cohort study found that over 58% of adult patients hospitalized with IPD had no history of vaccination, despite more than 90% of them meeting the criteria for immunization.¹

READ MORE: New Data Suggests PCV20 Is the Most Cost-Effective Choice for Pediatric Pneumococcal Prevention

For community pharmacists, who are often the most accessible health care providers and are visited twice as frequently as primary care physicians, these findings represent both a challenge and a significant opportunity to close the immunization gap, according to Vaccine.²

Pneumococcal Serotypes Continue to Play Major Role

IPD occurs when the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria invade normally sterile parts of the body, such as the bloodstream or the meninges, leading to life-threatening conditions like bacteremia and meningitis.^1,3

The current study found that in-hospital mortality among IPD patients reached 14.4%, a figure largely driven by factors such as older age, residency in long-term-care (LTC) facilities, and septic shock at the time of admission. Crucially, the research demonstrated that previous pneumococcal vaccination was associated with lower in-hospital mortality, suggesting that even in cases where the vaccine does not fully prevent infection, it may mitigate the severity of the disease.¹

The landscape of pneumococcal serotypes is constantly shifting, often in response to the pressure of existing vaccination programs—a phenomenon known as serotype replacement.⁴ Although the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) has significantly reduced the overall burden of disease through herd immunity, certain serotypes continue to circulate and cause severe illness in adults.^3,4

Researchers of the current study identified serotypes 8 and 3 as the most frequent culprits, with serotype 3 proving particularly dangerous for the elderly and those living in LTC facilities.¹ Global surveillance confirms that serotype 3 remains a persistent threat due to its thick capsular membrane and its ability to elicit lower, more rapidly declining antibody levels compared with other serotypes.^3,4

Pharmacists’ Expectations to Address Pneumococcal Vaccine Coverage

For pharmacists to effectively serve as the front line of defense, they must navigate a complex and rapidly evolving set of clinical guidelines.

A recent survey of community pharmacists in South Carolina highlighted significant barriers to this mission, including gaps in knowledge regarding current recommendations and difficulties in determining patient eligibility. The survey revealed that many pharmacists are less confident in their staff's willingness to adopt new vaccination services and cited financial hurdles, such as the cost of stocking vaccines and insurance reimbursement issues, as major impediments.²

As treatment becomes more difficult, the value of vaccines that cover an expanding array of serotypes increases. Current modeling of pipeline vaccines, such as 24-valent, 25-valent, and even 31-valent PCVs, suggests that future formulations could potentially prevent millions of outpatient acute respiratory infections and thousands of hospitalizations annually in the US alone.⁵

By integrating pneumococcal screening into routine workflows and utilizing reminders and educational programs, pharmacists can ensure that the 90% of patients who qualify for a vaccine actually receive one, thereby drastically reducing the mortality risks associated with IPD.^1,4

“This study highlighted the evolution and role of the pneumococcal serotypes circulating in our area in the prognosis of IPD and demonstrated that pneumococcal vaccination is an important prognostic factor for in-hospital mortality,” concluded the authors of the current study.¹ “Future public health strategies should study measures designed to increase and optimize pneumococcal vaccination uptake and to improve prevention with regard to the ecological niche of serotypes, the ultimate objective being to reduce the severity and mortality stemming from pneumococcus.”

READ MORE: Pneumococcal Resource Center

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REFERENCES

1. Marín-Caba E, Reinoso-Camino ME, Chueca-Porcuna N, et al. Evolution of pneumococcal serotypes, vaccination uptake, and prognosis of invasive pneumococcal disease: a 9-year multicentre cohort study in Granada (Andalusia, Spain). Infect Dis Now. 2026;56(2):105244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idnow.2026.105244

2. Davies A, Schreiber D, Carey C, et al. Community pharmacists’ pneumococcal vaccine knowledge and perceived barriers to vaccination. Vaccine. 2025;53:126930. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.126930

3. Pneumococcal disease surveillance and trends. CDC. February 25, 2026. Accessed March 5, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/pneumococcal/php/surveillance/index.html

4. Maeda H, Morimoto K. Global distribution and characteristics of pneumococcal serotypes in adults. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2025 Dec;21(1):2469424. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2025.2469424.

5. King LM, Andrejko KL, Kobayashi M, et al. Pneumococcal serotype distribution and coverage of existing and pipeline pneumococcal vaccines. JID. 2025;232(4):e609-e620. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaf376