The Geriatric Society of India (GSI) has come out with recommendations to the Union government to take up routine vaccination of adults, particularly senior citizens, on a mass scale to prevent various diseases.
A 16-member expert committee of the GSI, in its report ‘Indian Recommendations for Vaccination in Older Adults 2015’, said that earlier only pediatricians used vaccination to prevent diseases in neonates and children.
But in recent times, the benefits of vaccination have been extended to adults and senior citizens. But the practice of vaccination among the adults should be universalised.
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The GSI has constituted a vaccine advocacy forum as a follow action. The forum would advocate the use of vaccination, the cost effective tool to prevent vaccine preventable diseases.
Besides moving the government for taking up mass-based vaccinations to reduce diseases among the elderly, the forum also proposed to take up the advocacy with scientific departments, various medical associations and the public on the need for vaccination among adults and senior citizens.
The population of the elderly persons in India was growing sharply and this segment of population faced multiple medical and psychological problems. The number of those above the age of 60 is expected to double by 2026 and the senior citizens’ population would account for 12.17 per cent of the overall population in 2026.
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Dr. Shankar told The Hindu here on Sunday that GSI was certain about the effectiveness of vaccinations and hoped that diseases would be eradicated.
Dr. Shankar said that the immune system among senior citizens underwent age-associated changes .