[EvaH (OP)]

Ray says:

I have been watching the BBC factual series Hospital-based around the Royal Free Hospital Trust.  On a number of occasions, consultants have referred to "Covid pneumonia".  I know that there is a vaccine to protect against pneumonia, could an injection of this vaccine be any help in mitigating the effects of Covid?

What do you think?

[evan_au]

There are a variety of conditions that can cause Pneumonia (inflammation of the lung).
- One of these is infection with the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria; this bacteria has a vaccine
- Opportunistic bacterial infection could easily happen to someone on a ventilator, and a vaccine against the offending pathogen will help.
- But there are many other bacteria and viruses that can also cause Pneumonia
- SARS-COV2 is known to infect the lung, and also to cause inflammation, so this virus may be a direct cause of Pneumonia. A bacterial vaccine won't help in this scenario, but a COVID-19 vaccine will.

Overall: The vaccination won't do you any harm, and might provide a bit of extra protection. In some countries, the vaccine is subsidized by the government for vulnerable people (like people over a certain age).
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonia