National Immunization Awareness Month Highlights How Vaccines Have Helped Reduce Our Rate of Death and Disease in the United States

American Lung Association brings awareness to the importance of vaccinating against influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia, especially for those living with lung disease.

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American Lung Association

Aug 07, 2018, 08:00 ET

CHICAGO, August 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- An estimated 40,000 to 50,000 adults in the United States die from vaccine-preventable infectious diseases or their complications each year.¹ Vaccines have helped reduce our rate of death and disease in the United States.²

As a preventive healthcare measure, vaccines work by teaching the body's immune system to recognize and defend against harmful viruses or bacteria before getting an infection,³ and reduce the chance of getting certain infectious diseases.⁴ Most vaccine-preventable diseases are spread from person to person, which means that if one person in a community gets an infectious disease, they can spread it to others.⁵

Influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia are potentially serious infections that are among those vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. August's National Immunization Awareness Month is a yearly reminder for individuals to talk to their doctor to make sure that they are up to date on their vaccinations. There are vaccine recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for these potentially serious lung diseases:⁶

Pneumococcal Pneumonia, the most common type of bacterial pneumonia,⁷ is often spread through coughing.⁸ The symptoms of pneumococcal pneumonia can come quickly and may include high fever, excessive sweating and shaking chills, coughing, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath and chest pain.⁹ The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee recommends that all adults 65 years or older receive pneumococcal vaccination.¹⁰^,11

Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a highly contagious virus that is usually spread through coughing or sneezing.¹² Symptoms can impact the entire body and may include fever, headache, muscle aches, a dry cough, sore throat and nasal congestion.¹³ The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that everyone six months of age and older receive an influenza vaccination every year.¹³

"Older adults and those with weakened immune systems or certain chronic health conditions – like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – are especially vulnerable to infectious disease,"¹⁴ said Dr. Albert Rizzo, Senior Medical Advisor to the American Lung Association. "In fact, for adults 65 and older living with COPD, the risk for contracting pneumococcal pneumonia is 7.7 times higher than their healthy counterparts, and those with asthma are at 5.9 times greater risk."¹⁵

The American Lung Association, in partnership with Pfizer, is urging adults to talk with their healthcare provider about pneumococcal and influenza vaccination with more information available at Lung.org/pneumococcal and Lung.org/influenza, or call the American Lung Association's Lung HelpLine at 1-800-LUNGUSA.

About the American Lung Association
The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease, through research, education and advocacy. The work of the American Lung Association is focused on four strategic imperatives: to defeat lung cancer; to improve the air we breathe; to reduce the burden of lung disease on individuals and their families; and to eliminate tobacco use and tobacco-related diseases. For more information about the American Lung Association, a holder of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Guide Seal, or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872) or visit: Lung.org.

American Lung Association • 55 W. Wacker Drive, Suite 1150 • Chicago, IL 60601
1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872) Lung.org

¹ Trust for America's Health, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Adult Immunization: Shots to Save Lives. Washington, DC: Trust for America's Health; February 2010.
² Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. Hamborsky J, Kroger A, Wolfe S, eds. 13th ed. Washington D.C. Public Health Foundation, 2015: Appendix E: Reported Cases and Deaths from Vaccine Preventable Diseases, United States, 1950-2005. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/E/reported-cases.pdf. Accessed May 23, 2018.
³ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How Vaccines Prevent Diseases. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/vaccine-decision/prevent-diseases.html. Accessed September 3, 2014
⁴ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccine Information for Adults: Why vaccines are important for you. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/adults/reasons-to-vaccinate.html. Updated March 26, 2014.
⁵ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What Would Happen If We Stopped Vaccinations? Available at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/whatifstop.htm. Accessed May 23, 2018.
⁶ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccine Information for Adults. What Vaccines are Recommended for You. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/adults/rec-vac/index.html Updated September 18, 2014. Accessed October 7, 2014
⁷ National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. What causes Pneumonia? http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/pnu/causes. Updated March 2011. Accessed May 2015.
⁸ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Risk factors & transmission. http://www.cdc.gov/pneumococcal/about/risk-transmission.html. Updated June 6, 2013. Accessed May 2015.
⁹ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Pneumococcal disease. In: Hamborsky J, Kroger A, Wolfe C, eds. Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (The Pink Book). 13th ed. Washington DC: Public Health Foundation; 2015:279-296.
¹⁰ Kobayashi M, Bennett NM, Gierke R, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2015;64(34):944-947.
¹¹ Tomczyk S, Bennett NM, Stoecker C, et al. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2014;63(37):822-825.
¹² Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Key Facts About Seasonal Flu Vaccine. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm. Accessed September 29, 2014.
¹³ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccine Information for Adults. What Vaccines are Recommended for You. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/adults/rec-vac/index.html. Updated September 18, 2014. Accessed October 7, 2014
¹⁴ Mandell G, Bennett J, Dolin R. Mandell. Douglas and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th Edition. Streptococcus Pneumoniae. 2623-2642.
¹⁵ DOF Rate Ratios for Chronic Conditions 2016.