EuGMS supports European Immunization Week (EIW) 2019

Older people have an increased risk for adverse outcomes from infectious diseases and vaccination against vaccine preventable diseases is a key measure to enable healthy aging. Various vaccines against Influenza, S. pneumoniae and herpes zoster can effectively protect older people and continuous effort is put into further increasing their capacity to provide broader and longer-lasting protection. In addition, vaccines that are used throughout middle age, such as tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, should be further used in older people. For the rational design of optimized and novel vaccines for older people basic research to better understand burden of infectious diseases and associated factors such as immunosenescence is essential, and it is of paramount importance that clinical development and testing include also older age groups.

In the spirit of the recent World Immunization Week, EuGMS supports vaccination for older people all over the Europe to prevent infectious diseases, protect all citizens including older people and promote a healthy ageing. Therefore, proactively advise your older patients to vaccinate themselves and to regularly review their vaccination calendar!