Adult vaccination: Can we do better?
Volume 3 - Issue 1
Zoi Tsimtsiou*
- Department of Hygiene, Social-Preventive Medicine and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Received: February 11, 2021 Published: February 25, 2021
Corresponding author: Zoi Tsimtsiou, MD, MSc, PhD, Department of Hygiene, Social-Preventive Medicine and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
DOI: 10.32474/JCCM.2021.02.000154
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Abstract
Vaccination is widely considered as one of the most cost-effective public health interventions, that has succeeded in eradicating life-threatening diseases and improving significantly global health. Although the increasing effectiveness and safety of vaccines has been repeatedly investigated and reported, insufficient vaccination coverage rates still constitute an international challenge. Some vaccines are still underutilized and one of the major underlining reasons is the opposition in the population against immunization, commonly addressed as vaccine hesitancy. According to the report of the World Health Organization (WHO) SAGE working group on vaccine hesitancy it “refers to delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccination services” and it “is complex and context specific, varying across time, place and vaccines”, “influenced by factors such as complacency (not perceiving the need for a vaccine and/or not valuing the vaccine), convenience (access issues)and confidence (level of trust in vaccine or healthcare professional)”[1]. WHO has recently declared vaccine hesitancy as one of the ten biggest threats to global health in 2019 [2].
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