Half of us (49 per cent) eligible for the Federal Government’s Immunise Australia Program (IAP) are missing out.
Compare this to immunisation rates of 93 per cent for children and 73 per cent for teenagers.
The Conversation recently published a piece by researchers at the University of New South Wales Vaccine and Infection Research Lab that outlines what vaccinations should you be having as an adult and we think it’s well-worth a read.
If you are born after 1965, you should have received two doses of a measles vaccine. No? Then it’s time for a booster. This can be given as MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) or MMRV, which includes varicella (chickenpox).
You should also have the varicella vaccine on its own (not combined in MMRV) if you are older than 14 and haven’t had chickenpox yet.
Booster doses of diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough vaccines are also recommended at 50 years old and at 65 years and over if you haven’t received one in the previous ten years.
People aged 60 and over are also recommended to get the shingles vaccine which is government funded for people aged 70 to 79.
Millions of people at risk
Critically, the researchers say the elderly should be vaccinated against both influenza and pneumonia.
These are both are funded by the government for people aged 65 and over, but only three-quarters (75 per cent) of over-65s have been vaccinated.
This drops to just 30 per cent for pneumococcal pneumonia in the same age range. For those aged 70 and older, the immunisation rate is 50 per cent.
We need to get rid of this idea that older people are less vulnerable to disease than children.
The reality is as we age, our immune system declines and this increases our risk of catching infections.
Why not take steps to protect yourself?
