Influenza and Streptococcus pneumoniae cause considerable morbidity and mortality. Excess deaths in the UK per year from influenza have been between 2,000 and 4,000 in recent years. There are over 5,000 cases of invasive pneumococcal disease in the UK per annum. Vaccination was introduced to the UK in the eighteenth century. Since then, there have been major advances in the development and administration of vaccines. The use of hens’ eggs for viral growth meant that influenza vaccination became more widely available, and the recognition of different serotypes of pneumococcus led to increased effectiveness of immunisation. Recent developments have led to a conjugate pneumococcal vaccine which is effective in children and has had dramatic effects on the incidence of invasive disease in the US. It has recently been introduced into the childhood immunisation programme in the UK. This article gives a background to the development of influenza and pneumococcal vaccination, and an update on recent advances and recommendations.
