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Nation's top medical experts urge vaccination for more adults

Survey shows disturbing trend: Decreased knowledge and awareness in younger adults could portend grim future for preventive care

News conference to be sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases

Leading infectious disease experts will address the gravity and implications of low immunization rates among American adults and call for increased awareness and uptake of vaccines at a national news conference.

Vaccine-preventable diseases kill more adults in the U.S. each year than breast cancer, AIDS or traffic accidents. The U.S. Adult Immunization Schedule calls for vaccination of adults against more than a dozen infectious diseases. Yet, vaccination rates among adults are markedly below Healthy People 2010 goals. Despite longstanding recommendations, too few American men and women are protected against such diseases as shingles (herpes zoster), pneumococcal disease, influenza, whooping cough (pertussis), human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B.

Contributing to the problem is lack of knowledge and awareness about these diseases. A new national survey finds that knowledge and awareness are dramatically lower in younger adults (18 to 26 years), likely because this age group has had little or no personal experience with these diseases. Older adults can recall the very real impact of polio or measles or mumps. Many younger adults have never seen these diseases manifested, and therefore, have less of a sense of urgency about protection through vaccination. Experts contend this lack of awareness among younger adults may further decrease vaccine uptake, making outbreaks and endemic transmission of many diseases possible again.

A panel including experts from academia, government, health professional societies and the public health field will address the need to make adult vaccinations part of routine care.

• William Schaffner, MD, President-Elect, NFID, Program Moderator, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
• Anne Schuchat, MD, Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC
• Stanley A. Gall, MD, Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, University of Louisville
• Robert H. Hopkins, MD, Associate Professor, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
• Cora L. Christian, MD, AARP Board of Directors
• Susan J. Rehm, MD, Medical Director, NFID, Cleveland Clinic Department of Infectious Diseases

Following the panel discussion, NFID will host its 14th Richard J. Duma Annual News Conference and Symposium, providing updates on the control and prevention of infectious disease threats, including sexually transmitted diseases; infection risks at home, in the locker room and from pets; seasonal and H1N1 influenza; and food-borne disease.

DATE/TIME: Wednesday, July 22, 2009
10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time – adult immunization news conference (continental breakfast)
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – lunch provided
12:30 p.m. – Duma news conference and symposium

WHERE: The National Press Club, 14th and F Streets, NW, 13th Floor, First Amendment Room, Washington D.C. 20045; also via live webcast at www.visualwebcaster.com/NFID-News-Conference and telephone at 800-908-8370

CONTACT: Jennifer Corrigan, 732-382-8898, 732-742-7148 (cell phone), jenn.corrigan@comcast.net

Pre-registration for attendance is preferred. Journalists must present media identification or a business card issued by a recognized news organization. Freelance journalists must present a letter of assignment on letterhead from a recognized news organization and a business card.

This news conference is sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and supported by unrestricted educational grants from GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co., Inc., sanofi pasteur and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.

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