Study Finds Many Adults Skipping Vaccinations

Jan 24, 11:36 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) - Vaccines aren't just for kids, but far too few grown-ups are rolling up their sleeves, disappointed federal health officials reported Wednesday.

The numbers of newly vaccinated are surprisingly low, considering how much public attention a trio of new shots - which protect against shingles, whooping cough and cervical cancer - received in recent years.

Yet many seem to have missed, or forgotten, the news: A survey by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases found that aside from the flu, most adults have trouble even naming diseases preventable with a simple inoculation.

"We really need to get beyond the mentality that vaccines are for kids. Vaccines are for everybody," said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who called the new data sobering.

(c) 2008 Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved. Study Finds Many Adults Skipping Vaccinations
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