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Your Global Point of Contact to Vaccination Experts
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Help shape the adult vaccination agenda at the IFA 14th Global Conference on Ageing
To inform our thinking about how best to shape the agenda on adult vaccination in this part of the conference, the IFA is seeking your views through a short survey by
clicking here
.
The goal of dialogue during the conference is to capture and synthesize knowledge, new ideas and innovation around improving rates of adult vaccination in light of the significant impact of vaccine-preventable diseases on older people, specifically those with co-morbid conditions.
The IFA values the participation of the World Coalition and other interested agencies and people in helping to shape this agenda, and hopes to provide an important platform for healthy discussions and debates through substantive presentations at the 14th Global Conference. For more information visit
www.ifa2018.com
.
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Update from the World Coalition on Adult Vaccination
The World Coalition on Adult Vaccination continues to expand in 2017! The IFA team is working diligently on the creation of the adult vaccination website, which will highlight the work done by the IFA and the World Coalition on Adult Vaccination, and provide resources on adult vaccination for interested parties. Keep checking the Coalition Twitter account
@vaccines4life
for updates on the website launch.
In addition to the adult vaccination website, the IFA in collaboration with ILC UK is preparing for a meeting in London, United Kingdom that focuses on at-risk older populations. The goal of this meeting is to create a deeper understanding of the intersections of vaccination, ageing, and non-communicable diseases within the purview of healthy ageing, and to support the inclusion of at-risk populations, such as COPD, diabetes, and asthma, in the vaccination conversation. For a report on this meeting (coming in fall 2017) visit the
IFA website
.
The IFA would also like to thank members of the Coalition for their important contributions to the
adult vaccination newsletters
so far in 2017. The relationships among members of the Coalition are gaining strength and are indicative of the growing interest in the field.
The Coalition looks forward to further discussion and developments at the intersections of adult vaccination, NCDs and healthy ageing, and to the addition of new Coalition members in 2017!
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World Coalition on Adult Vaccination
Member Updates
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Perceptions and Attitudes of Patients About Adult Vaccination: Results of a Survey from Hacettepe University Hospital
Immunization is one of the most effective public health measures to prevent disease, but vaccination rates in adult populations still remain below the targets. Patient and physician attitudes about vaccination are important for adult vaccination. The most important barriers to adult vaccination are misperceptions and low awareness of patients, and inadequate knowledge and negative attitudes of physicians. Many adults are unaware of which vaccinations they need and when they should receive them. People's awareness about protecting their own health is also important in achieving the targeted level of adult immunization. The attitude and behavior of individuals are influenced by their health literacy, and limited health literacy may cause misperceptions and noncompliance. Nevertheless,
several studies have shown that lack of recommendation by a physician was the main reason for not being vaccinated
In this regard, Dr Ozisik and colleagues conducted a survey at the Internal Medicine Outpatient Clinics of Hacettepe University Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. 512 adult patients were asked to fill out a questionnaire on their perceptions and attitudes about vaccination and their vaccination status.
Click here to read the full article.
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Generations United:
Valuing Vaccinations Across Generations Expands International Efforts
Generations United is expanding its international campaign, Valuing Vaccinations Across Generations, as they continue working with teams led by the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute
of
Gerontology (TMIG) in Japan and the University of Granada - Business Sector Foundation in Spain.
Generations United launched the campaign in 2016 with The Gerontological Society of America and the American Academy of Pediatrics to bridge the importance of immunizations within segmented groups into an intergenerational conversation within families and among different generations. In its first year, the campaign reached over 32 million readers and listeners as well as an audience of more than 5.2 million through Twitter and Facebook.
In the U.S., Valuing Vaccinations Across Generations will continue to produce compelling and shareable content including new memes about the critical importance of vaccinations across generations. Moving forward, Generations United will deepen its engagement with new and current partners to reach new audiences, leveraging Grandparents Day and other relevant platforms for raising awareness.
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Update from the Austrian Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology (ÖGGG)
According to recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), every contact of citizens with health care systems shall be used to re-evaluate the individual vaccination status and to make up for missing doses. The Austrian Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology (ÖGGG) clearly commits to this recommendation (1). On a yearly basis the Austrian Ministry of Health (BMGF) publishes recommendations for preventive vaccination, clustered to type of vaccine as well as age.
In this context older subjects are recommended to receive vaccination or boosters against pneumococcal infections, the flue, tick born encephalitis and herpes zoster in addition to vaccines from childhood and early adult age (see table 1 for advanced age vaccination recommended in Austria).
Table 1:
presents latest recommendations released by the Austrian ministry of health for
vaccination in advanced age.
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Vaccine
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Scheme to be followed
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Pneumococcal Infection
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Two dosages 50 yrs up (PNC13 followed by PPV23 after one year) no boostering recommended at the moment
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| Influenza |
Yearly, 60 yrs up intradermal vaccines or such with adjuvants to be preferred
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| Tick born encephalitis |
Started during childhood, booster vaccination every five years up to and including 60 yrs, every three years 61 yrs up (with a seasonal timing late winter)
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Herpes Zoster
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Single dose application 50 yrs up.
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Tetanus, Pertussis, Diphtheria
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Started during childhood, boostering every 10 yrs up to 60 yrs, every five yrs 61 yrs up |
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ILC-UK Update - "When the drugs won't work" report
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Type caption text here. |
Launched on 28th June,When the drugs won't work: Antimicrobial resistance and the future of medicine was produced by the International Longevity Centre - UK (ILC-UK) to provide an introduction to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the threat it poses to human health.
This infographic-dense information report explains what AMR is, how it occurs, the nature of the threat it poses to humanity, and what Governments, medical professionals and members of the public can do to prevent medicine being plunged back into the dark ages.
The report also summarises presentations delivered at the Dr Jack Watters debate, held in November 2016 in London, in which public health professionals discussed how best to prevent the rise of AMR is an ageing society.
When the drugs won't work also focuses on the role that immunisation has to play in the global effort to combat AMR, with policy recommendations for Government,
medical professionals and members of the public.
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Immunisation Coalition - So Far in 2017
An objective of the Immunisation Coalition is to provide education and advocacy with three groups in mind - the media, the public, and providers.
In February of this year we held a scientific meeting on influenza and pneumococcal disease, involving disease experts, scientists, medical specialists, Government and industry.
In April we commenced an influenza awareness program, starting with a free public influenza vaccination day, followed by a television, radio, print, and social media campaign, highlighting the potential seriousness of influenza, and the importance of vaccination against the disease. We also ran a webinar for practice nurses and other immunisation workers.
In May we commenced a social media campaign on the importance of adult vaccination, which will run until the end of September. On June 29 we held an adult immunisation forum, attracting more than 150 immunisation practitioners, who were provided with the latest information about protection against vaccine preventable diseases. We also ran a webinar this week on pneumococcal disease, with 2 more webinars planned over the coming months, for pertussis and meningococcal disease respectively.
All of our activities are supported by fact sheets, videos, and web content, all developed and distributed by the Immunisation Coalition.
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Confederation of Meningitis Organisations' (CoMO) commitment to and advocacy progress on Adult Vaccination
CoMO is playing a pivotal role in the formation of a group committed to bringing about positive change in the European policy on Adult Vaccination, provisionally titled, '
Coalition on Life Course Immunisation'. Following a strategy workshop earlier this year, which CoMO co-chaired with European Institute of Women's health (EIWH), CoMO has been compiling the Terms of Reference ahead of the inaugural meeting that will take place at the Excellence in Paediatrics Conference in Vienna on December 8th. This meeting will be followed by a second policy forum on Life Course Immunisation.
Meanwhile, Dr Daphne Holt (CoMO Vice President) represented CoMO at the European Union-organised Joint Action on Vaccination event held in Brussels on the 31st May. Here, CoMO was one of the few
collaborating stakeholders
to represent a patient group and played a part in the discussions leading to construct a Joint Action on Vaccination document put to the Council of Health Ministers in June.
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Vacunación del adulto mayor una prioridad en salud pública
En el XIV congreso Gobernar Salud 2017, encuentro de Secretarios de Salud (COSESAM) de todos los municipios de Colom
bia, la Asociación Colombiana de Gerontología y G
eriatría, presentó
las acciones propuestas por la IFA a nivel mundial, con el fin de mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas mayores con un enfoque preventivo, brindando un modelo de trabajo socio sanitario en perspectiva de longevidad saludable para Colombia.
La vacunación de personas mayores debe ser tan intensiva como la que se realiza en los niños. El abuso de antibióticos, las hospitalizaciones innecesarias y las epidemias prevenibles con la vacunación son un compromiso social que tenemos como estado dado la transformación demográfica que vive nuestro país y la responsabilidad que tienen las entidades públicas en la administración de recursos que impacten la promoción de un envejecimiento saludable.
Robinson Cuadros Cuadros
Médico Geriatra
Presidente de la Asociación Colombiana de Gerontología y Geriatría
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Photo competition puts life-course vaccination in the spotlight
Vaccines Today
has launched a photo competition highlighting the role of vaccines in keeping us healthy throughout our lives.
Participants are asked to create a short story featuring 'Nina' - a character created for the 6th annual
Communication Challenge
- showing how staying healthy allowed her to live a life filled with moments that matter.
To enter, draw or print a picture of Nina, take a photo of her capturing a special moment, and write a short description of what's happening. It could be anything: a childhood memory, a graduation ceremony or the birth of Nina's grandchild.
Ready-made Nina's can be downloaded from the website at various stages of life. The message behind the campaign is that vaccines play a crucial behind-the-scenes role in enabling us to live full and healthy lives.
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If you are an NGO, academic, scientist or government decision maker working in the field of adult vaccination, ageing and public health and would like to learn more about the World Coalition on Adult Vaccination, please contact
Ms Jessica Rochman-Fowler at
jrochman-fowler@ifa-fiv.org
.
Connect with the IFA on any of the below social media platforms:
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