Doctors have long urged people ages 50 and older to get a shot to protect against bacterial pneumonia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now agrees.
On Wednesday, an independent group of advisers to the CDC voted 14 to 1 to lower the age for routine pneumococcal vaccines to 50. CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen almost immediately signed off on the recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
The shots were previously only recommended for adults 65 and older, and for children 5 and younger.