Boca Raton, FL., (January 15, 2008) -- Every year millions of dollars in
vaccination programs are aimed at preventing serious illnesses and life-threatening
diseases in children. But most adults need a couple of shots in the arm as well.
According to
Dragan Djordjevic, M.D., of
MDVIP, a national network of affiliated physicians who
are as dedicated to disease prevention as healing, there are 10 life-saving inoculations
that every adult should have.
Most people are not aware that childhood vaccines and boosters may lose effectiveness
by the time adults reach 30 years of age, says Dr. Djordjevic. As a result, he points
out, tens of thousands of adults every year die prematurely of diseases ranging
from the flu to meningitis, which can be easily prevented with regular vaccination
and booster shot maintenance. Adult inoculation could be critical to the prevention
of the pandemics that historically wipe out large human populations every 30 years,
such as the aviary flu pandemic of 1918, and the polio pandemics of the 1940s and
1950s.
It is alarming to realize how many adults have not received all of the vaccine and
booster shots they need, says Dr. Djordjevic. This isnt just kid stuff. Some of
these diseases are deadly to adults who are not properly inoculated and can spread
quickly from continent to continent, raising additional concerns if you travel.
MDVIP recommends that primary care physicians review inoculation histories with
all patients during their annual physical. Unfortunately, many preventive medicine
measures, such as some adult vaccine and booster inoculations, are not covered by
insurance policies, so many physicians dont include these in their routine checkups,
adds Dr. Djordjevic. Patients should insist on regular conversations about adult
vaccine and booster shots with their doctors, if it is not already routine.