Adult immunization in India: On World Health Day, expert shares key vaccinations every adult needs to take

The World Health Day is observed on April 7 every year.


The World Health Organization will observe its 75th anniversary on Friday.


"WHO’s 75th anniversary year is an opportunity to look back at public health successes that have improved quality of life during the last seven decades. It is also an opportunity to motivate action to tackle the health challenges of today ̶ and tomorrow," an official statement says.


The theme for this year's World Health Day is Health for all.

"In India we usually see parents being particular and regular when it comes to vaccinating their children, but they do not do the same when it comes to themselves," says Dr Kashmira Jhala, consultant pulmonologist, Apollo Hospitals, Ahmedabad stressing the importance of vaccination in adults on World Health Day.


Adult vaccination is as important as getting your children vaccinated, says Dr Jhala.

"Besides this, the cervical cancer vaccine is recommended for women after consultation with a gynaecologist. Depending on the age and medical condition of an individual there are several adult vaccines available,” she explains. In India, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer with crude cervical cancer incidence per 100 000 women at 18.7. A total of 45,300 deaths due to cervical cancer were reported in 2019. India has recently developed the first indigenous quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer.

Tetanus is caused by bacteria called Clostridium tetani which results in painful muscle contractions. It is also known as lockjaw infection. "Vaccines are extremely important for disease control and prevention. For young adults between the age group of 18-26 years, it is important to get a tetanus shot (once in 10 years). Apart from this, vaccination for hepatitis A and C is recommended for protection against water-borne diseases," explains Dr Jhala.

Getting vaccinated against the flu is also vital every year for all adults. After COVID, we now understand that viruses mutate and a new strain arises. Hence getting a flu shot is necessary every year to prevent respiratory illnesses," the expert adds.


Flu cases have spiked recently with COVID cases, posing a double threat. India sees two flu infection peaks every year: one between January and March and the other between August and October.

The doctor also emphasizes the need for a pneumonia vaccine.


For any adults above the age of 65 years or any age with chronic conditions like diabetes, heart conditions, chronic lung disease, chronic liver disease, and cancer are also at high-risk and must take a pneumonia vaccine, the doctor says.


According to Dr Jhala, “Doctors must promote the vaccine for pneumonia. Vaccination can give efficacy up to 70-80 against pneumonia and the severity of the disease like admission in the ICU can be prevented. There are two vaccines recommended for this PCV13 and PPSV23, which protect against 13 and 23 different variants of bacteria respectively.”

“To reduce the financial burden in our country, two vaccines among adults that I would recommend as a pulmonologist are pneumonia and influenza. With the help of these two vaccines, we can prevent cases of diseases like pneumonia and flu. Studies have shown the severity of pneumonia and flu can also be reduced by vaccines. Irrespective of a person’s underlying condition every adult over the age of 65 should get vaccinated for flu and pneumonia," the expert says.

Haemophlus influenzae type B vaccine, Hepatitis A vaccine, Hepatitis B vaccine, Human papillomavirus vaccine, Meningococcal vaccine, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, varicella vaccine, tetanus and diptheria vaccine, Measles Rubella vaccine, Rotavirus vaccine, zoster vaccine are recommended for adults in India.

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