Clinical and economic burden of pneumococcal disease in older US adults

We developed a model characterizing rates and costs of pneumococcal disease in the US to estimate the expected annual clinical and economic burden of this condition among older adults. Among the 91.5 million US adults aged ≥50 years, 29,500 cases of invasive pneumococcal disease, 502,600 cases of nonbacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia, and 25,400 pneumococcal-related deaths are estimated to occur yearly; annual direct and indirect costs are estimated to total $3.7 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively. Pneumococcal disease remains a substantial burden among older US adults, despite increased coverage with PPV23 and indirect benefits afforded by PCV7 vaccination of young children.