A Shot At Staying Well

Health Alert SF0911-01
A SHOT AT STAYING WELL
Of course, you keep up on your kids' vaccinations, especially during all the flu frenzy. But did you know there's a list of vaccines adults need to keep up-to-date too? Leading medical experts are warning many of us aren't doing a good job…and it's dangerous. In fact, more than 50,000 Americans die each year from vaccine -preventable diseases. Only 25% of people recommended for the pneumococcal vaccine get it and the number isn't much better for the Hepatitis B shot. Why aren't we rolling up our sleeves? The CDC tells us, "The reason cited most often by adults is they didn't know they needed the vaccine or their physician hadn't recommended it, so there's a lot of room for CDC or physicians to be doing education and outreach." The American Academy of Physicians agrees saying that medicine tends to be reactive and the group is working with their members to increase awareness. Experts say, though, patients need to be proactive too. How do you know what you need and when you need it? From pertussis to shingles…it's an important health alert for our times.