Vaccines and Preventable Diseases:

Pneumococcal Vaccine Publications (for Adults)
(Publications, Questions and Answers, Etc.)

Q&A about the Pneumococcal Shot

What does the pneumococcal shot do?

The pneumococcal shot protects you from getting a serious infection in your blood or brain that can cause dangerous health problems, hospitalization or death.

Who should get the pneumococcal shot?

• People age 65 or older
• People who have problems with their lungs, heart, liver, or kidneys
• People with health problems like diabetes, sickle cell disease, alcoholism, or HIV/AIDS

Will the shot make me sick?

The shot is very safe and does not make you sick. Some people get a little swelling and soreness where they get the shot. This usually goes away in a day or two.

When can I get the pneumococcal shot?

You can get the shot at any time of the year. It is available whenever you go to your doctor. Make sure you ask about it.

How many times do I have to get a shot?

Most people only need ONE shot. This protects them for a lifetime. Some people might need to get a booster shot after 5 years.

Do I have to pay for the shot?

Medicare and Medicaid pay for the shot.

Brochure

Note: This brochure prints on both sides of the paper. Be sure that your office printer can support dual-sided printing and that you know how to choose the correct printer settings, or arrange to have the brochure printed by a commercial printer.

Tip: You also can print the card twice, and photocopy one side onto the back side of the other (so that it is back-to-back) and cut them in half.

Card

Note: This card should be printed on card stock paper (heavier weight than normal office printing paper). The card prints on both sides of the paper and you'll need to CUT the paper in half, lengthwise. For extremely large quantities, you might want to arrange to have the card printed and cut by a commercial printer.

Reproduction Instructions

There are three ways you can easily reproduce the materials, as described below.

Office Printer: You can download black and white or color versions of these files in .pdf format for PRINT with your office laser printer or color printer.

Local Copy Center: Materials in color or black and white .pdf format can be reproduced at a local copy center.

Commercial (off-set) Printer: If you want to reproduce higher quality or large quantities of these materials, consider using a local commercial printer. We would be pleased to provide QuarkXPress 5.0 files or Adobe Illustrator 10 for PRESS for use with commercial printers.

For additional assistance with reproducing, downloading, or printing these materials, please consult:

• Instructions for printing and reproducing materials (exit)
• Help with Downloading Files
• Help with PDF (.pdf) Files
  

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