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Pneumonia: the signs, getting care, getting better, and the vaccines that help prevent it
For anyone with a cough and fever that is getting worse instead of better, a baby who is breathing hard, an older parent who is suddenly weak or confused, a pneumonia diagnosis and medicine to finish, a recovery that is taking longer than expected, or a question about the pneumonia vaccine. CDC says pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that can be mild or serious, that it can often be prevented, and that it can usually be treated. This page passes on, by name, what CDC and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) say: the signs in adults, older adults and babies, getting checked and treated, getting better at home, the vaccines, and who is at higher risk. It builds the words to say to a clinic, and prints a recovery card.
Right now
- Someone is struggling to breathe, has blue or gray lips or skin, or is newly confused or very hard to wake: call 911 or go to the emergency room now (ours).
- A baby is breathing fast, grunting, or the skin between the ribs pulls in with each breath? NHLBI names these as signs of breathing trouble in babies. Call the child’s doctor now; call 911 for a bluish color (ours).
- Already treated for pneumonia, and getting worse, or having trouble breathing or talking? NHLBI says call your provider.
More help
- The germs that often come first: Flu · COVID-19 · RSV · Whooping cough · Coughs and colds. When an infection turns dangerous: Sepsis.
- Lungs and long-term conditions: Asthma · COPD · Quit smoking · Getting older.
- Care and keeping track: When you need a doctor and can’t pay · My medicines list · Symptom diary · A place to stay.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
A cough, a fever or trouble breathing, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for a cough, a fever or trouble breathing, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 14, 2026 on CDC’s pages About Pneumonia, Risk Factors for Pneumonia and Pneumonia Prevention and Control (all updated February 25, 2026) and Pneumococcal Vaccination (February 25, 2026), and on the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s pneumonia pages (NIH): What Is Pneumonia?, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Causes and Risk Factors, Prevention, Treatment and Recovery (updated March 24, 2022), each with its Spanish version. Where the two differ on vaccine ages, this page follows CDC’s newer page. Ours: calling 911 for struggling to breathe, blue or gray lips or skin, or new confusion; calling a clinic the same day for a cough with fever and shortness of breath; the notes on writing down your medicine and asking at the pharmacy; and the order of the steps. What we left out: clinical pages for providers, the names and amounts of medicines and the names of vaccine products (ask your provider or pharmacist), national and world death counts, and the less common germs. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.