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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 isn’t 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 don’t 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.”
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