ADULT IMMUNIZATIONS - A PRACTICAL APPROACH FOR CLINICIAN .1.

Vaccine-preventable diseases cause needless sickness and death in adul t Americans. Most adults 65 years of age or older have not been immuni zed against influenza or pneumococcal disease. In addition to an age o f 65 years or older, indications for influenza and pneumococcal vaccin es include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hemodynamically sign ificant cardiac disease and infection with the human immunodeficiency virus. Many adults in the United States also are not sufficiently prot ected against tetanus, diphtheria, measles, mumps and rubella.