Recommendations to improve adult vaccination coverage in Latin America.

Infectious diseases are among the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Latin America. Despite the availability of safe, effective and relatively accessible vaccines, adult vaccination remains at a low level worldwide and especially in Latin America resulting in millions of adults every year suffering illness, hospitalization and even death from vaccine-preventable diseases. In response to this problem, the Americas Health Foundation facilitated the development of this document: Recommendations to Improve Adult Vaccination Coverage in Latin America. The 24 endorsing organizations are deeply committed to increasing adult vaccination coverage in the Region and believe that it should be considered an individual, community and governmental responsibility and that increasing vaccination coverage in adults is an essential investment in every country's future. The criteria for including a recommendation to improve adult vaccination coverage in Latin America are that it be timely, reasonable, effective, relevant and clear. While the challenges to adult vaccination coverage are multi-factorial, they can be overcome by a commitment from government, payers, health care professionals and others. Most important, we believe that every country should have a nationwide schedule for adult immunization. We believe that as a result of implementing the recommendations in this paper, all adults will be better informed about the severity of vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine safety and efficacy, current recommendations, the fact that vaccines are as essential for adults as they are for children, and that vaccination is a life-long need. As a result, we are confident that vaccination coverage throughout Latin America will improve greatly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]