News in brief - Jan. 23, 2012

Study: More practices need to promote adult vaccines - States asked to reassess vaccine priorities

Study: More practices need to promote adult vaccines

Making immunizations a routine part of office-based medical care would help improve adult vaccination rates and lower health care costs, according to a RAND Corp. study issued Jan. 11.

Researchers reviewed published studies on adult vaccination, interviewed health experts and surveyed 1,278 adults 18 and older on their thoughts about influenza vaccination. They found that although most adults are immunized at medical offices, only about one in four medical practices stocks all recommended vaccines for adults (www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR1169.html).

Part of the problem is that some adult immunizations have a short shelf life. Another challenge is that insurance does not always cover the physicians' costs of administering certain vaccines.

The researchers said better guidance should be developed to help health professionals effectively promote and administer vaccines. The study also calls for more research on office-based adult immunization.

States asked to reassess vaccine priorities

Jail inmates and prisoners have high rates of chronic and infectious diseases, but 55% of U.S. jails and prisons did not receive any influenza A(H1N1) vaccine during the 2009 pandemic period. That's the finding of a study in the Jan. 6 issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

During the H1N1 pandemic, states were in charge of allocating their available immunizations to areas where they thought the need for the vaccine was greatest, according to the CDC.

For the study, researchers examined the results of a national survey of health professionals who work in a representative sample of U.S. prisons and jails (www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6051a3.htm). The survey was distributed between July and November 2010.

The findings indicate that some states might need to re-examine their priorities in dispensing vaccines so they can better protect their populations, the study authors said.