Comments on: Costa Rican doctors calling for pneumonia vaccination after 425 deaths in 2011

By: Leslie Sirag

Leslie Sirag — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 02:03:41 +0000

Is pneumonia all over Costa Rica or more prevalkent in some regions?

By: Leslie Sirag

Leslie Sirag — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 02:03:40 +0000

Our doc says once a lifetime.

By: Reina French

Reina French — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:48:35 +0000

Daniela, you valid points and I agree….there is alot of contamination in the always A/C public building due to lack of maintenance on the units for one thing…mold spores everywhere…I don’t do A/C.

I also agree with gcblues….I am much more cautious of restaurants and very seldom eat out whether it is rainy season or high season…

Something instinctively tells me just eat at home and you know your own hygiene….the coughing for all the small spit particles flying everywhere makes me crazy…sometimes I just want to get in the persons face and of course don’t…VBG…Health awareness should be a top priority and I don’t see any…except for the popular Dengue season or maybe an occassional visit to restaurants by MO Salud.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 19:03:45 +0000

if people would wash their hands and not go to work when ill most of this would be solved. I just stop eating out in the rainy season. you can’t find a place where people are not hacking away.

By: Ken Morris

Ken Morris — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 18:33:40 +0000

Can someone tell me for sure whether the pneumonia vaccine is supposed to be given once a lifetime, once a year, or at some other multi-year interval? I thought this was an annual thing, like the flu shot, but my pharmacist tells me it is once a lifetime.

By: Daniela Rosaura

Daniela Rosaura — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:48:50 +0000

Other means to combat respiratory diseases should be immediately implement rules that all public buses provide adequate ventilation (constant exchanging old, used air with fresh clean air) instead of having all of the windows closed and in effect, creating a warm, humid, germ-laden incubator. Ticos generally believe that such sicknesses are caused by cold rather than germs, but the bus could also add heat if necessary to warm the fresh air. Most pubic buildings also lack proper ventilation, because it is not generally understood that recirculating the air is much different than ventilation. A complete change of air every fifteen minutes is the minimum for proper ventilation, and should be much more frequent when the area is crowded. Also much more needs to be done in educating the public to cover the mouth when coughing or sneezing, and spitting in public. Hand washing needs more effort too, and I believe the latest trend in offering the fist in a salutation is much better than a palm-to-palm hand shake.