Pneumococcal vaccine in the elderly: the Norwegian experience.

Pneumococcal infections have increased during the last 10 to 15 years in Norway. Their incidence is now about 20 per 100,000 population for all age groups, but is 2 to 3 times higher among the elderly. In 1996, the Advisory Board of Infectious Disease Control, National Institute of Public Health, Norway, recommended that pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine should be administered to all individuals aged > or = 65 years. This recommendation has led to an increased use of pneumococcal vaccine, with a marked peak during the influenza vaccination season.