Prevnar 13 not available should I have Pneumovax 23 instead?

[Xceed]

I have arranged to have a Streptococcus Pneumonia injection at my GP's surgery ( in the UK), and saw on the website it was advised to first have a Prevnar 13 injection first followed by the Pneumovax 23 at least two months later. The surgery and my pharmacy say they can't get hold of the Prevnar 13 - is it better to have the Pneumovax 23 rather than nothing? I was diagnosed with CLL last year and I am asymptomatic.

[AussieNeil Administrator]

It is certainly better to have Pneumovax 23 than nothing, plus you can have Prevnar 13 later, but ideally Prevnar 13 gives you the best protection.

Neil

[jkipp1 in reply to AussieNeil]

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[lankisterguy Volunteer]

Is there any other pharmacy you can check?

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I recently had a similar issue finding a high dose flu shot. The top hospital in New York City was out of stock, as were the two major pharmacy chains for the USA. I asked the pharmacist and he directed me to a small specialty pharmacy in a nearby town (his wife works there) and they had plenty of high dose on hand.

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As AussieNeil has suggested, the Prevnar 13 is thought to be more effective and if it is taken first, the PPSV 23 can be taken 60 days later. If you take the PPSV 23 first, the suggested wait time is one year.

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Len

[mrsjsmith]

Also worth double checking with the surgery nurse when you are booked in. Earlier in the year my surgery didn’t have stock of Pneumovax.