LungMAP (@lungmap-dcc.bsky.social)

World Pneumonia Day: Why Do We Still Need It? | American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Worldwide, we are still recovering from probably the biggest pneumonia pandemic in recent history, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. Even before COVID-19, pneumonia was by far the most common serious infectious disease and among the top causes of death in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and the top five or six causes of death in developed economies (1). Because it is a very common misconception that pneumonia is no longer a serious disease because it can easily be cured with antibiotic treatment, it is very appropriate that we have World Pneumonia Day to highlight the enormous societal burden of this disease. In fact, worldwide, a child dies of pneumonia every 43 seconds (2). However, the common misconception should be correct: we have all the tools in our hands to slash mortality from pneumonia, but they are left to gather dust. It is painful to compare the focus and drive that brought the COVID-19 pandemic under control, with tremendous science producing effective RNA vaccines and their widespread deployment, with the pitiful attempts to prevent pneumonia deaths, particularly in childhood. For the latter, we do not need new vaccines or monoclonal treatments. We have the tools, but worldwide apathy means they are not used. https://tinyurl.com/zd65aec8