Why Skipping Vaccines Is A Public, Not Personal, Health Choice

(Reuters Health) - Too many U.S. adults are not getting vaccinated, putting themselves and others at risk, immunization experts say. According to the latest available data, about 44 percent of adults over age 19 had a flu shot; 20 percent had a TDAP vaccine, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis; and 20 percent of 19-to-64-year-olds at risk of pneumonia had that vaccine (compared to 60 percent of those over 65). Just 27 percent of those over age 60 were vaccinated against herpes zoster, which cuts the risk of shingles in half, according to new guidelines from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) published in Annals of Internal Medicine. “Vaccinations not only protect you. They also protect those around you,” ACIP liaison Dr. Sandra Fryhofer said by email, yet, “vaccination coverage rates for adults are abysmal.” Fryhofer, an Atlanta physician and adjunct associate professor at Emory University School of Medicine, also pointed to racial and ethnic disparities in vaccination rates, with whites more likely than all other groups to be vaccinated. And she noted that adults with health insurance are two to five times more likely to be appropriately vaccinated. “It’s a double whammy for those without insurance. They don’t have insurance coverage if they get sick and they don’t have insurance coverage to pay for vaccinations that can help them stay well,” said Fryhofer, who was also a mem...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news