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Pneumococcal Immunization: From Policy to Practice
Benjamin Schwartz, MD;
Robert F. Breiman, MD
JAMA. 1990;264(9):1154-1155.
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| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings. |
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The importance of Streptococcus pneumoniae as the leading cause of pneumonia requiring hospitalization and a major cause of death among the elderly and other high-risk populations is well documented.1,2 For the past 12 years, the availability of pneumococcal vaccine has provided an opportunity to reduce substantially the morbidity and mortality of pneumococcal disease, an opportunity that has been largely unrealized. While the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee and other expert panels uniformly recommend pneumococcal immunization for high-risk populations, and have published increasingly inclusive recommendations in 1981, 1984, and 1989,3-5 only 10% of the target population have been immunized6—a painful reminder of the limited impact of public health policy statements on medical practice.
Explanations offered for the low utilization of vaccines targeted for adults include a lack of emphasis on preventive care within the medical community, uncertainty among physicians concerning the high-risk conditions for which immunization is recommended, unfounded concerns
. . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]
Author Affiliations
From the Respiratory Diseases Branch, Division of Bacterial Diseases, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Ga.
Footnotes
Reprint requests to Epidemiology Section, Division of Bacterial Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Respiratory Branch, Atlanta, GA 30333 (Dr Schwartz).
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