Advocating vaccination of adults aged 60 years and older in Western Europe: statement by the Joint Vaccine Working Group of the European Union Geriatric Medicine Society and the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics-European Region.
Vaccines are an underused public health strategy for healthy aging. Considering the risks of vaccine-preventable diseases and the current low vaccine coverage rates in older European citizens, the two European geriatric and gerontological societies (European Union Geriatric Medicine Society [EUGMS] and International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics-European Region [IAGG-ER]) convened a Joint Vaccine Working Group to develop a consensus document advocating routine vaccination of aging populations. The mandate of this Working Group was to improve the uptake of routine vaccinations in adults aged 60 years and over. The consensus statement underlines the need to establish, strengthen, and harmonize European policies that continue routine vaccinations to adulthood and that will include older populations. Improved vaccination rates will promote healthy aging by reducing the burden of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases in older populations, a population that is rapidly increasing in Europe.
Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, Geneva Medical School and Univeristy Hospitals, Thonex-Geneve, Switzerland. jean-pierre.michel@hcuge.ch
Jean-Pierre
JP
Michel
Christian
C
Chidiac
Beatrix
B
Grubeck-Loebenstein
Robert W
RW
Johnson
Paul Henri
PH
Lambert
Stefania
S
Maggi
Robert
R
Moulias
Karl
K
Nicholson
Hans
H
Werner
D000368:Aged; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000276:immunology; D003245:Consensus Statements as Topic; D005060:Europe; D005062:European Union; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D007109:Immunity; D007391:International Cooperation; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012955:Societies, Medical; D014611:Vaccination; D014612:Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*
D014612:Vaccines