Vaccine Shortage Hits Adults; Many Lack Required Shots

The current vaccine shortage is alarming parents and pediatricians who fear children are going unprotected for preventable diseases. But the crisis is worrisome for adults, too. About 40,000 adults die each year due to not having the recommended shots, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"This is an undeclared national crisis," says Greg Poland, professor of medicine and infectious diseases at Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minn. "People panicked over five anthrax deaths, but 40,000 people dying is like a small hydrogen bomb each year."

Whether it is tetanus-diphtheria boosters, measles and chickenpox immunizations or flu shots, there is a national problem with vaccine availability. This is a result of a confluence of events, including production snafus and the abandonment of production by a few vaccine manufacturers.

But even when vaccines are in ample supply, a big chunk of adults aren't getting them. "The big issue is the perceived lack of vulnerability and the perceived lack of efficacy [of vaccines] by some of the public," says Walter Orenstein, chief of immunizations at the CDC.

Vaccine recommendations change frequently. In 2000, the CDC instituted its recommendation that all adults over age 50 should get flu shots. Those with chronic lung or heart disease, diabetes and immune disorders should also get the shots, as well as pregnant women during flu season.

Along with the other immunizations against measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus and diphtheria, shots protecting against hepatitis B -- a contagious virus that can lead to liver cancer and causes about 5,000 deaths every year -- were initially recommended for only a small high-risk population, including intravenous drug users and men who have sex with men. Now the CDC recommends that all infants and adolescents get the hepatitis B three-shot regimen. Since one third of all those infected with hepatitis B have no obvious risk factors, some doctors are advising all of their adult patients to get the vaccine as well.

The most common recommended immunizations and a guide to who needs them is at www.cdc.gov/nip/recs/adult-schedule.pdf.

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