Health Groups Urge All Minnesotans to Keep Vaccines Current

(The following news release comes from the Minnesota Visiting Nurse Agency, Minnesota Pharmacists Association and Minnesota Medical Association via Goff Public, a St. Paul communications firm.)

While there has been a great deal of attention focused on making sure children receive required vaccinations, Minnesota medical professionals and health advocates are becoming more concerned about a growing number of people over the age of 18 who are not getting vaccinated.  The majority of immunization awareness campaigns urge adults to get their children vaccinated, but the fact is that most people who die from vaccine-preventable diseases are actually adults.  In the U.S., approximately 50,000 adults die each year from vaccine-preventable diseases.[1]  The Minnesota Visiting Nurse Agency, Minnesota Pharmacists Association, and Minnesota Medical Association are encouraging adults to make vaccinations a priority in 2012.

“Millions of American adults are getting ill, hundreds of thousands are ending up in the hospital, and tens of thousands are dying from vaccine-preventable diseases,” said Dr. Kristin L. Nichol, Associate Chief of Staff for Research at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System and Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota.  “In most cases, the illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths can be prevented by vaccines that are scientifically proven to prevent diseases.” 

Immunization is a cost-effective measure with a high success rate in preventing infections such as influenza, meningitis, human papillomavirus, hepatitis B, and pneumonia.  In 2010 only 18.5% of high-risk adults got a vaccination that protects against pneumonia, a disease which kills approximately 5,000 Americans each year.[1]  Approximately 70 million people who should be receiving a pneumococcal vaccination are not yet vaccinated.2

“Some people have fears about the safety of vaccines, but the fact is they are safe and pure, and they provide the clear alternative to the often deadly diseases they prevent,” said Dr. Nichol.  “To increase adult immunization rates, we must address safety misconceptions, educate and raise awareness of the importance of vaccines, and encourage all health care providers to discuss vaccines with their patients.”

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[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011

2 National Health Interview Survey, 2007