Adult Vaccinations Global Campaign Offers New Insight into a Life-Course Approach to Immunization

TORONTO - Jan. 20, 2015 - PRLog -- Toronto, Canada, January 20, 2015 – The International Federation on Ageing has launched a global campaign to better understand the uptake of adult vaccinations and to promote awareness of the importance of vaccinations throughout the life course.

Take the survey today and get involved in the Adult Vaccinations Global Campaign: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1689308/Raising-Awareness-of-Adult-Vaccinations

Immunization is a core component of the human right to health, a standard element in any effective, preventative public health approach, and an individual, community, and governmental responsibility. Current advocacy efforts to promote the importance of immunization have focused primarily on children, yet there is a grave lack of awareness about the fact that older people are equally, if not more vulnerable to the spread of infectious diseases.

Much research has shown that older adults run an increased risk of contracting vaccine-preventable diseases.  It is unacceptable that diseases such as the flu, pneumonia, whooping cough, shingles, meningitis, diphtheria, and tetanus continue to adversely affect the quality of life of older people when the solutions are known, easily accessible, and cost-effective.

Healthy older adults make significant social and economic contributions to community and society.  The deterioration of immune system capacity in later life combined with the realities of contemporary demographic change illustrate why there is a critical need for action surrounding the promotion of a life course approach to immunization.

Adult immunization rates will not be increased until the fundamental lack of awareness about the benefits of vaccinations and failure of individuals and health practitioners to adhere to research based recommendations about vaccines are addressed.  There is an imminent need to develop adequate policy frameworks to generate awareness about the importance of a life course approach to immunization and to ensure that this awareness translates into increased immunization coverage globally.

About the International Federation on Ageing

The International Federation on Ageing (IFA) is an international non-governmental organization with a membership base of NGOs, the corporate sector, academia, government, and individuals. The IFA believes in generating positive change for older people throughout the world by stimulating, collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information on rights, policies, and practices that improve the quality of life of people as they age.

For more information contact:

Dana Bandola, Project Officer

International Federation on Ageing

Tel: 1-416-342-1655

Email: dbandola@ifa-fiv.org

Website: www.ifa-fiv.org