CDC: Adult Vaccination Rates ‘Unacceptably Low’
According to the CDC, a "substantial increase" in immunizations for adults is necessary.
Reuters: More Adults Need Vaccines And Not Just For Flu: Centers For Disease Control And Prevention
The flu isn't the only illness adults should be immunized against, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday, as a new study found current adult vaccination rates in the country "unacceptably low." The report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concluded that a "substantial increase" in adult vaccinations is needed to prevent diseases including pneumonia, tetanus, diphtheria, hepatitis, shingles and whooping cough (Beasley, 1/29).
MedPage Today: Adults Aren't Getting Their Shots, CDC Says
Adult vaccination rates for problematic illnesses such as pneumonia remain "unacceptably low," government researchers said Tuesday. While there were slight increases in coverage rates for the HPV and Tdap vaccines in the past year, many vaccines remained at stable, low levels, Carolyn Bridges, MD, of the CDC, and colleagues reported online in Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report. For example, vaccination with the hepatitis A shot inched up 1.8 percentage points to 12.5% of adults ages 19 to 49, while hepatitis B coverage rose just 2.1 percentage points to 35.9%, they found -- well below targets of 90% in 2020 (Fiore, 1/29).