2008 Woodie Awards
Report: Adults shunning vaccines
Briana Byrd - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 1/29/08 Section: Metro
Unlike Trix, vaccinations aren't just for kids.
A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report showed that few adults receive vaccinations against preventable diseases, such as whooping cough and shingles.
Only 2 percent of adults ages 60 and older received a vaccination to prevent shingles, according to the report. The report also said that during the whooping-cough vaccine's first two years on the market, only 2 percent of adults ages 18 to 64 received vaccines.
The vaccine that was previously used to prevent whooping cough couldn't be given to adults because of the side effects, said Jerold Woodhead, a UI associate professor of pediatrics.
"Now, there is a safe vaccine for adults that will reboost their immunity against whooping cough," he said. "This gives us the hope that they will not get the disease or spread it to others."
Approximately 50,000 adults die from vaccine-preventable diseases each year, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. It also reported that 36,000 vaccine-preventable deaths can be attributed to the flu, and 90 percent of those deaths were in people ages 65 and older.
"The concept is that traditionally the children were the ones who get the vaccines, not the adults," said Oscar Gomez, a UI assistant professor of pediatrics. "This is a learning process that adults must be taught."
The CDC has been doing a great job inducing adults to be vaccinated against the flu, he said, but more education is needed.
Woodhead explained why some adults believe vaccinations are no longer needed.
"In many respects, adults think that vaccinations are for children," he said. "We now know that there are vaccines designed and helpful for adults."
Previously, the only vaccine adults would receive on a regular basis was the tetanus vaccine, Woodhead said.
Many diseases such as whooping cough, chicken pox, and tetanus have been eliminated or highly reduced, but could become common again if vaccinations were no longer offered at high levels, the CDC reported.
However, some adults continue the vaccination habits they developed as children.
UI freshman Lisa Barry said she regularly receives vaccinations against the flu, and she recently got vaccinated against human papilloma virus.
Another problem can arise when children who have been vaccinated only get partial immunity, Woodhead said. Because of this, they could be susceptible to catching an infection from an adult.
"By immunizing adults, we will be protecting others from becoming infected," Woodhead said.
E-mail DI reporter Briana Byrd at:
briana-byrd@uiowa.edu
Some Vaccine-Preventable Adult Diseases
• Diphtheria
• Haemophilus influenzae type b
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Herpes Zoster (Shingles)
• Human Papillomavirus
• Influenza (flu)
• Measles
• Meningococcal
• Mumps
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report showed that few adults receive vaccinations against preventable diseases, such as whooping cough and shingles.
Only 2 percent of adults ages 60 and older received a vaccination to prevent shingles, according to the report. The report also said that during the whooping-cough vaccine's first two years on the market, only 2 percent of adults ages 18 to 64 received vaccines.
The vaccine that was previously used to prevent whooping cough couldn't be given to adults because of the side effects, said Jerold Woodhead, a UI associate professor of pediatrics.
"Now, there is a safe vaccine for adults that will reboost their immunity against whooping cough," he said. "This gives us the hope that they will not get the disease or spread it to others."
Approximately 50,000 adults die from vaccine-preventable diseases each year, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. It also reported that 36,000 vaccine-preventable deaths can be attributed to the flu, and 90 percent of those deaths were in people ages 65 and older.
"The concept is that traditionally the children were the ones who get the vaccines, not the adults," said Oscar Gomez, a UI assistant professor of pediatrics. "This is a learning process that adults must be taught."
The CDC has been doing a great job inducing adults to be vaccinated against the flu, he said, but more education is needed.
Woodhead explained why some adults believe vaccinations are no longer needed.
"In many respects, adults think that vaccinations are for children," he said. "We now know that there are vaccines designed and helpful for adults."
Previously, the only vaccine adults would receive on a regular basis was the tetanus vaccine, Woodhead said.
Many diseases such as whooping cough, chicken pox, and tetanus have been eliminated or highly reduced, but could become common again if vaccinations were no longer offered at high levels, the CDC reported.
However, some adults continue the vaccination habits they developed as children.
UI freshman Lisa Barry said she regularly receives vaccinations against the flu, and she recently got vaccinated against human papilloma virus.
Another problem can arise when children who have been vaccinated only get partial immunity, Woodhead said. Because of this, they could be susceptible to catching an infection from an adult.
"By immunizing adults, we will be protecting others from becoming infected," Woodhead said.
E-mail DI reporter Briana Byrd at:
briana-byrd@uiowa.edu
Some Vaccine-Preventable Adult Diseases
• Diphtheria
• Haemophilus influenzae type b
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Herpes Zoster (Shingles)
• Human Papillomavirus
• Influenza (flu)
• Measles
• Meningococcal
• Mumps
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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