FAQ

Yes, you can definitely get pneumonia again. Certain forms of pneumonia can be prevented by vaccine such as influenza pneumonia, and a common bacterial pneumonia called pneumococcal pneumonia.

Yes, if someone in the house has pneumonia it is a good idea to isolate. Influenza pneumonia for example is very common and very contagious. Other bacterial pneumonia are less contagious. It is especially important to isolate people at high risk, such as underlying conditions, drugs that depress immunity, or conditions that depress immunity.

Yes, pneumonia can be very contagious, especially influenza, pneumonia.

Yes Covid definitely causes pneumonia, and indeed Covid that is severe enough to lead to hospitalization, is most often because of development of pneumonia due to the Covid virus.

Some people are more at risk for developing long-term effects from pneumonia. Common, long- term complications of pneumonia, include fatigue, shortness of breath, heart failure, kidney problems, and mental changes, such as depression, and difficulty with memory.  The mechanisms of these long-term effects are active areas of research that try to understand better diagnosis and treatment.

Yes children get pneumonia.

The long term effects of pneumonia in children are not yet well understood but are an active area of research.

Depending on the study it can take months to a year to complete one study. For clinical trials of new drugs, those projects usually take several years.

No, not at this time but maybe in the future.

It is very important to start treatment early, especially to prevent progression to severe pneumonia. Pneumonia progresses to a condition called sepsis, which is vital organ failure such as lung heart and kidney failure due to the pneumonia infection. In patients hospitalized with sepsis due to pneumonia, it is crucial to start intravenous antibiotics within hours.