The death of actress Diane Keaton at 79 has drawn renewed attention to a silent but deadly disease that claims thousands of lives each year. Keaton, whose decades-long career made her one of Hollywood’s most beloved and enduring performers, died from pneumonia—a preventable illness for which vaccines exist but remain underused, particularly among older adults.
Pneumonia is far more common and deadly than most Americans realize. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 150,000 adults are hospitalized for pneumonia in the United States each year, and tens of thousands die as a result of complications related to the infection. The disease poses the greatest danger to the elderly, people with weakened immune systems, and those with chronic lung or heart conditions.
Vaccination offers powerful protection, yet millions of older Americans remain unvaccinated. The CDC reports that only about 64 percent of adults age 65 and older have ever received a pneumococcal vaccine. Public health experts say that figure should be much closer to 100 percent, since the immune system weakens with age and pneumonia can develop rapidly from even a minor respiratory infection.
There are two main vaccines that protect against the most common cause of bacterial pneumonia—Streptococcus pneumoniae—both proven to reduce hospitalizations and deaths among older adults. Medical researchers have found that these vaccines can cut pneumonia-related hospitalizations by as much as 10 percent in seniors and dramatically reduce severe complications and mortality.
Keaton’s passing serves as a reminder of the disease’s indiscriminate reach. Despite modern medicine’s progress, pneumonia remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, ranking alongside stroke and heart disease. It often begins as a simple cough or fever before spreading through the lungs and shutting down oxygen exchange.
For Americans over 65, getting the pneumonia vaccine can mean the difference between a mild illness and a fatal infection. Public health advocates urge anyone in that age group who has not yet been vaccinated to speak with their doctor about receiving one of the recommended shots.
Diane Keaton’s warmth, intelligence, and signature humor will continue to light up the screen. Her death should also serve as an urgent public health wake-up call—one that reminds us that pneumonia is not just an old-fashioned illness, but a modern killer that can be fought with a simple, safe, and widely available vaccine.