Routine Care & Wellness

Facts about Adult Immunization

• During most influenza seasons, 10% to 20% of the nation's population is infected with influenza with an annual estimated cost to society during severe epidemics of at least $12 billion.
• The hepatitis B virus is found in blood and other body fluids such as semen and vaginal secretions and is very easy to catch. It is 100 times more infectious than the virus that causes AIDS.
• The 1918 Spanish flu outbreak killed over 500,000 people in the US and over 20 million worldwide. The 1968-69 ³Hong Kong flu² outbreak led to 34,000 deaths in the United States.
• Each year in the United States, pneumococcal disease accounts for an estimated 500,000 cases of pneumonia, 50,000 cases of bacteremia, and 3,000 cases of meningitis.
• Pneumococcal pneumonia accounts for 25% to 35% of all adult pneumonias leading to hospitalization, and is the most common type of pneumonia.
• Medicare Part B reimburses for both the influenza and pneumococcal immunizations.
• Hepatitis A strikes an estimated 94,000 Americans every year.
• Hepatitis A is now recognized as the most common vaccine-preventable disease in travelers.
• Hepatitis B infects 100,000-140,000 Americans annually. Thousands of the victims are adolescents and young adults.
• In the United States there are between 1-1.25 million people with chronic hepatitis B infections that can infect other household members and sexual contacts.
• The hepatitis B virus is found in blood and other body fluids such as semen and vaginal secretions and is very easy to catch. It is 100 times more infectious than the virus that causes AIDS.
• People of any age can get measles, but those born after 1956 who have no proof of immunity are particularly at risk.
• Most serious complications of mumps are more common among adults than among children.
• Approximately one-third of infected people does not exhibit symptoms of mumps.
• As many as 12 million women of childbearing age are susceptible to rubella.
• If rubella occurs during pregnancy, it can result in severe birth defects, miscarriages and stillbirths.
• One out of every 10 people who gets diphtheria will die from it.
• Forty to 50 cases of tetanus still occur each year, resulting in an average of 5 deaths annually in the United States.
• Up to half of Americans over 50 years of age are inadequately immunized against tetanus and diphtheria.
• Less than 5% of adults are susceptible to infection with the chickenpox virus. Adults are 25 times more likely to die from the disease than children are.
• Adolescents and adults are 10 times more likely than children to develop severe complications when infected with the chickenpox virus.
• Today in the United States at least 100 times as many adults as children die each year from vaccine-preventable diseases.
• Vaccines are among the safest medicines available.

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