Annual Probability of Getting Pneumonia
~0.8%
Annual probability in US
About 1 in 125 Americans develops pneumonia requiring medical attention each year, with much higher rates in the elderly.
Pneumonia affects approximately 2.5 million Americans each year, resulting in roughly 50,000 deaths. Community-acquired pneumonia has an overall annual incidence of about 8 per 1,000 adults, though rates increase sharply with age to over 30 per 1,000 for adults over 80.
The most common cause is Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcal pneumonia), but viral pneumonia (including from influenza and COVID-19) is also significant. Risk factors include age over 65, smoking, chronic lung disease, immunosuppression, and recent respiratory infection. About 1.5 million emergency department visits for pneumonia occur each year.
Pneumococcal vaccines (PCV20 or PCV15 followed by PPSV23) are recommended for all adults 65 and older and for younger adults with certain risk factors. Despite effective treatments with antibiotics (for bacterial pneumonia), the mortality rate for hospitalized pneumonia patients remains about 5-10%, rising to over 20% for those requiring ICU care.
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