The jab has been shown to be very effective

Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson announced on Tuesday the pneumococcal vaccine would be offered to all over-65s in England.

Around two in 1,000 over-65s are admitted to hospital with pneumococcal pneumonia each year.

The vaccine has been successfully used in the UK for more than 10 years.

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Sir Liam said: "Pneumococcal infection can cause serious diseases.

"Everybody is at risk but the older you are the greater the risk of contracting this sort of illness.

"We already successfully vaccinate at-risk groups such as those with heart conditions, chronic lung disease and chronic liver disease.

"We now need to make sure that older people are also protected and that's why we are offering the jab to everybody aged 65 and over."

Protection at any time

Sir Liam said patients could be vaccinated at any time during the year and doctors will be inviting patients in for their jab from April.

The Department of Health said most people would only need to have the vaccine once, but a second dose may be needed for people with certain medical conditions such as kidney problems.

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The pneumococcal immunisation programme for older people was announced in 2003, with over-80s offered the jab in 2003/04 and over-75s in 2004/05.

Dr Nigel Higson, a GP in Hove and chairman of the Primary Care Virology Group, told the BBC News website nobody was really sure just how much illness was caused by pneumoccocal infection - but it was thought to be a significant cause of death and serious illness.

He said the bacterium was opportunistic, tending to take hold when a person was already ill.

Dr Higson said: "This is a good policy. It is a good vaccine with minimal side effects, which offers long-term immunity, and can prevent the complications of other infections."

Children

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has recommended, in principle, the introduction of pneumococcal vaccine for children.

But it said there needed to be further consideration of the number and timing of doses required, the price at which the vaccine could be secured and guarantees of the supply of the vaccine.

The Department of Health said it was seeking further advice from independent experts on introducing the vaccine for children.