When someone mentions immunizations, it can bring to mind memories of the pediatrician’s office and a nurse telling you “this is only going to hurt for a second.”

Our health system focuses primarily on infants and children when it comes to vaccinations.

Adult vaccination is an important health topic that rarely receives the attention it deserves. The Society for Women’s Health Research held a briefing on Capitol Hill on October 7 to educate legislators and the public about the challenges in adult vaccines and new research in the field.

“Too few adults, including the elderly, receive vaccinations,” said Phyllis Greenberger, M.S.W, president and CEO of the Society, a Washington, D.C., based advocacy organization. “As a result, many adults become ill, are disabled, and die each year from diseases that easily could have been prevented by vaccines. Everyone from young adults to senior citizens can benefit from immunizations.”

The first presenter was Anne Schuchat, M.D., assistant surgeon general and a rear admiral in the United States Public Health Service. She is director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Schuchat shared data demonstrating how cost-effective immunization can be. She explained that when you vaccinate a child, you are also protecting the senior citizens around the child from that same disease.

One of the barriers to adult vaccination is cost for both the physician and the patient. Physicians incur a large cost by purchasing and storing vaccines for which they may not be reimbursed. If the patients receive a vaccine not covered by their insurance, they may be stuck with out-of-pocket expenses. The percentage of seniors receiving the flu vaccine doubled when it became covered under Medicare.

Access to vaccines is another obstacle. “We must expand vaccine delivery beyond the traditional medical home of the doctor’s office,” Schuchat said. She suggested that in the future more vaccines should be given in non-traditional settings, such as grocery stores, senior centers and churches.

George Curlin, M.D., a medical officer in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, spoke about advances in adult vaccinations. Curlin reminded the briefing attendees of the long process a vaccine must undergo before it makes it to our doctor’s office. In fact, fewer than ten percent of candidate vaccines make it the clinic.

Pregnant women are excluded from some medical studies and treatments because of potential health risks for their fetuses, but both women and their fetuses benefit from certain immunizations.

For example, the influenza vaccine is recommended for all stages of pregnancy because the illness is severe in pregnant women. Additionally, recent data shows that administering the influenza vaccine during pregnancy reduces illness in newborns.

“Vaccinating the mother during pregnancy will trigger vigorous immune responses in the fetus,” Curlin said. However, not all vaccines are recommended for pregnant women. Expectant mothers should discuss this with their doctors.

Curlin also brought up differences between men and women in vaccine efficacy and safety. For instance, an early trial for a genital warts vaccine in development showed that it is effective for women, but not men.

Adverse reactions to immunizations are more common in women than men. Since this is usually associated with vaccine dose, researchers are looking into tailoring the dose to each sex to conserve vaccine and reduce the rate of side effects, Curlin said.

“Vaccines are undisputedly the most cost-effective public health prevention tool we have,” Curlin said. “Until very recently, we’ve been stuck in a mindset of age. Meaning we thought you only need vaccines at six months or two years. That is not the case.”

The Society encouraged lawmakers to boost funding for the NIH and the FDA to ensure that patients receive safe and effective vaccines. Greenberger also called for more patient education and public health programs to encourage and ensure appropriate use of vaccines.

Source: Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR)