Most Seniors Don't Get Shingles Vaccination, CDC Finds

Although a vaccine to prevent shingles has been available since 2006, less than 7 percent of U.S. seniors - the demographic most frequently affected by the disease - chose to receive the vaccination as of 2008, finds a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The vaccine reduces the risk of getting shingles by half and the risk of developing painful complications by two-thirds, according to Gary Euler, study co-author. Since the chance of contracting shingles increases with age and especially is high by age 80, when seniors are frail, he believes the value of the vaccine is incontestable.

Specifically, the vaccine protects against the herpes zoster virus, which causes chicken pox at first infection. The body never rids itself of the virus and it can show up again decades later as shingles. Symptoms include headache, fever and tingling or throbbing accompanied by jabs of stabbing pain called post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), followed by a skin rash and blisters.

Up to 10 in every thousand seniors develop shingles every year. Without the vaccination, 10 percent to 14 percent of them will suffer from neuralgia.

In the new study appearing online and in the February 2011 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that estimated coverage levels were low among all seniors and lowest among minority groups.

Source: Health Behavior News Service, part of the Center for Advancing Health

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Updated Recommendations for Prevention of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease Among Adults Using the 23-Valent Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (PPSV23)

Invasive disease from Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a major cause of illness and death in the United States, with an estimated 43,500 cases and 5,000 deaths among persons of all ages in 2009 (1). This report provides updated recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) (i.e., bacteremia, meningitis, or infection of other normally sterile sites [2]) through use of the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) among all adults aged ≥65 years and those adults aged 19--64 years with underlying medical conditions that put them at greater risk for serious pneumococcal infection. The new recommendations include the following changes from 1997 ACIP recommendations (2): 1) the indications for which PPSV23 vaccination is recommended now include smoking and asthma, and 2) routine use of PPSV23 is no longer recommended for Alaska Natives or American Indians aged <65>2). ACIP recommendations for prevention of pneumococcal disease among infants and youths aged ≤18 years using the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) and PPSV23 are published separately (3).
Read Full Updated Recommendations