Adults feel grown up, ignore vaccines to their peril
Awareness about adult immunisation is as low as one per cent in India, but it could save many lives currently being lost to Hepatitis B, pneumonia, flu, rubella, tetanus and herpes zoster.
The World Health Organisation’s recent statistics reveal that an estimated 2 to 3 million deaths every year can be averted if a proper vaccination schedule is followed. It is up to individual governments to implement immunisation procedures so that they reach every one.
Going by the abysmally low awareness figures, the Indian government is not focused on expanding its vaccination programme.
Dr B. Shiva Raju, senior general physician, said, “Immunisation is found to work in 90 per cent of cases of hepatitis B and 60 per cent in flu cases. This shows that there can be an improved quality of life, less hospitalisation cost, and also a stronger immune system for recovery.”
He says that recently doctors were finding young adults coming with higher and debilitating viral load, which led to secondary pneumonia and death. A flu vaccine protects from these complications.
If the government followed a proper immunisation regime for the maximum number of people, then the person who is not eligible for certain vaccines can also get immunity as the virus will not be able to survive and transmission of contagious diseases from human to human can be controlled.
From 2014 to 2016, the incidence of swine flu has increased as the virus is moving from human to human transmission.
According to a senior government doctor, “The cases which we are now seeing at the end of April are not caused by the virus in the air, but in the human body and getting transmitted. Hence the cases are not as virulent as they were earlier. This shows that immunisation can go a long way in helping people deal with the disease.”
Vaccination is important for those who suffer from co-morbid conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, kidney and lung diseases as well as some orthopaedic conditions where implants have been placed in the body.
Dr Mohammed Parvez, consultant for internal medicine, said, “Due to low immunity and preexisting medical conditions, patients take a long time to recover.”
He said an immunised person is already protected so the body is able to fight the infection on its own. “But immunisation must be done only after consulting a doctor and at the right time,” the doctor said.
Dr Parvez said flu vaccines have to be taken yearly and only in September and October. “If they are taken in January, they are not able to provide the required immunity to the body and it’s wasted,” he said.