 Quick Steps: Facts
About Adult Immunizations
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FACT: Each year in the United States, up to 60,000 adults
die from vaccine-preventable diseases or their complications.
FACT: Pneumonia and influenza together are the seventh
leading cause of death in the U.S., and the fifth leading cause of
death among older adults.
FACT: Influenza (Flu) and pneumococcal (pneumonia)
immunizations are covered under Medicare Part B.
FACT: During most influenza seasons, 10% to 20% of the
Nation's population is infected with influenza with an annual
estimated cost to society of up to $12 billion during severe
epidemics.
FACT: The 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic killed more than
500,000 people in the U.S. and over 21 million worldwide. The 1957-58
"Asian flu" and the 1968-69 "Hong Kong flu" epidemics led to 68,000
and 34,000 deaths in the United States, respectively.
FACT: Each year in the United States, pneumococcal disease
accounts for an estimated 500,000 cases of pneumonia (infection of the
lungs), 6,000 cases of bacteremia (bloodstream infection), and 3,300
cases of meningitis (inflammation of the tissues and fluids
surrounding the brain and spinal cord).
FACT: Pneumococcal pneumonia accounts for up to 175,000
hospitalizations each year and is the most common cause of pneumonia.
FACT: The hepatitis B virus is found in blood and other body
fluids such as semen and vaginal secretions. It is 100 times more
infectious than HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
FACT: The hepatitis B vaccine is recognized as the first
anti-cancer vaccine because it can prevent primary liver cancer caused
by hepatitis B infection.
FACT: In the United States there are 1-1 1/4 million people
with chronic hepatitis B infections who can infect other household
members and sexual partners.
FACT: An estimated 80,000 people in the United States are
infected with hepatitis B each year, the majority are adolescents and
young adults.
FACT: Vaccines are among the safest medicines available.
FACT: An estimated 180,000 Americans are infected with
hepatitis A each year.
FACT: Hepatitis A is the most common vaccine-preventable
disease in travelers to other countries.
FACT: Fifty or fewer cases of tetanus occur each year, but
result in about 5 deaths annually in the United States. Most deaths
occur in those 60 years of age or older.
FACT: Almost all reported cases of tetanus occur in persons
who have either never been vaccinated, or who completed their primary
series but have not had a booster vaccination in the past 10 years.
FACT: Nearly one out of every 10 people who get diphtheria
will die from it.
FACT: Unimmunized persons of any age can get measles, but
those born after 1956 who do not have proof of immunity are
particularly at risk and should be immunized.
FACT: If rubella (German measles) occurs during pregnancy,
it can result in severe birth defects, miscarriages and stillbirths.
FACT: Approximately one-fifth of infected people do not
exhibit symptoms of mumps.
FACT: Serious complications of mumps are more common among
adults than among children.
FACT: Adolescents and adults are more likely than children
to develop severe complications when infected with the chickenpox
virus.
FACT: Less than 5% of adults are susceptible to infection
with the chickenpox virus, but adults are much more likely to die from
chickenpox than are children.
National Coalition for Adult Immunization, 4733 Bethesda Avenue,
Suite 750, Bethesda, MD 20814-5228
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