Adult immunization in India: Importance and recommendations

Vaccination is recommended throughout life to prevent infectious diseases and their sequelae. Vaccines are crucial to prevent mortality in that >25% of deaths are due to infections. Vaccines are recommended for adults on the basis of a range of factors. Substantial improvement and increases in adult vaccination are needed to reduce the health consequences of vaccine-preventable diseases among adults. Incomplete and inadequate immunization in India against these communicable diseases results in substantial and unnecessary costs both in terms of hospitalization and treatment. The government of India as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) consider childhood vaccination as the first priority, but there is not yet focus on adult immunization. Adult immunization in India is the most ignored part of heath care services. The Expert Group recommended that data on infectious diseases in India should be updated, refined, and reviewed periodically and published regularly. This group suggested that the consensus guidelines about adult immunization should be reviewed every 3 years to incorporate new strategies from any emerging research from India. There is an immediate need to address the problem of adult immunization in India. Although many issues revolving around efficacy, safety, and cost of introducing vaccines for adults at the national level are yet to be resolved, there is an urgent need to sensitize the health planners as well as health care providers regarding this pertinent issue.