adult immunization

adult immunization

The administration of vaccines to prevent clinical infection in adulthood; 'The contrast between the impact of vaccine-
preventable diseases of adults compared with those of children is striking. Each yr, < 500 persons in the U.S. die of vaccine-preventable
diseases of childhood … 50,000 to 70,000 adults die of influenza, pneumococcal infections, HBV. Cf Childhood immunization

Adult immunization

Infections	Annual deaths	Vaccine efficacy	Current vaccine use	Preventable deaths
Pneumococci	40, 000	60%	20%	19, 200
Influenza	20, 000	70%	41%	8, 260
HBV	5000	90%	10%	4, 050
MMR‡	<30	95%	variable	<30
Tetanus-diphtheria	<25	99%	40%	<15
‡Measles-mumps-rubella. From JAMA 1994; 272:1133