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Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia; Past President, American College of Physicians |
Adult Immunization Schedules: Evidence-Based
This issue of Staying Well focuses on adult immunization. Each year, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) collates current immunization recommendations for adults (aged 19 years or older) into an easy-to-use reference document. There is a handy graphic diagram with a corresponding set of footnotes. There is also a helpful list of precautions and contraindications for each vaccine.[1,2] ACIP recommendations are now evidence-based.[3]
The new 2014 adult immunization schedule has been endorsed by the American College of Physicians and is published simultaneously in Annals of Internal Medicine[1] and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.[2] There is a separate companion schedule for children and adolescents aged 0-18 years.[2]
The adult schedule has also been reviewed for approval by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American College of Nurse-Midwives. The separate companion schedule for children and adolescents from birth through 18 years of age was reviewed for approval by the American Academy of Pediatrics.[4]
This multispecialty approach is designed to help get the word out to the medical community about immunization schedule changes. Not all ACIP recommendations are consistent with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensing. The 2014 footnotes now clarify many of those discrepancies. Brand names of some vaccines are also included in the footnotes as an aid to clinicians.
Medscape Internal Medicine © 2014 WebMD, LLC
Cite this: Adult Immunization 2014: Refinements and Clarifications - Medscape - Feb 04, 2014.
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