Washington --- Experts from national medical organizations urged adults Wednesday to get their vaccine shots, as new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that alarmingly low immunization rates are responsible for thousands of preventable deaths and countless illnesses each year.
Less than half the nation's health care professionals have gotten recent flu shots, according to the Atlanta-based health agency's annual survey for 2007.
While vaccination rates appeared low across all age groups above 18, figures for seniors as well as health care professionals fell well short of national target rates, the survey showed.
Few of the 7,000 adult respondents were able to name vaccinations commonly available, and even fewer were aware of several recently developed shots for widespread ailments such as shingles.
Dr. Anne Schuchat, the assistant surgeon general and the director of the CDC's immunization center, called the data "sobering."
"We need to move beyond the mentality that vaccines are for kids," she said. "Vaccines are for everybody."
A panel assembled by the National Foundation of Infectious Diseases in Washington urged physicians to recommend shots for adults --- and improve their own immunization status.
The CDC said that only 42 percent of health care professionals are up to date with their flu shots.
"It's a moral imperative to not be a conduit for transmitting infectious diseases to your patients," said Dr. Michael Oxman of the University of California, San Diego. "There's a problem when fewer than 50 percent of doctors get their flu vaccine."
The panelists also expressed concern that several new and highly effective vaccinations for common, serious diseases such as shingles and human papilloma virus have not yet become widely administered.
Dr. Kristin Nichol said influenza vaccinations slack off after Thanksgiving but are recommended for everyone through February, when flu cases peak.
"Combined, these infectious diseases kill more Americans annually than either breast cancer, HIV/AIDS or traffic accidents," said William Schaffner, vice president of the NFID.
"The important thing to remember is that deaths and illness associated with these infections are largely avoidable through vaccination," he said.
Copyright 2008 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution