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MUMBAI: For the previous two years, Chembur resident Reshma has been taking the annual flu shot and getting her mother and father vaccinated too. “My father’s cardiologist and mother’s diabetologist insisted they take the flu vaccine,” said the 35-year-old who found it easy to convert her parents’ overall reluctance to vaccination after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many doctors mention similar conversions among their elderly patients. Senior physician Dr Hemant Thacker said there has been a four-fold increase in his patients seeking the flu vaccine in the past couple of years.
“But greater than the Covid pandemic, it was the current outbreak of H1N1 and H3N2 flu viruses in Mumbai that modified folks’s minds,” said Dr Thacker.
Although adult vaccination is an established concept in the developed world, local studies show many are unaware about it and most believe vaccines are for children.
An analysis by International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) in Deonar has shown less than 2% of the adult population take each of the vaccines meant for flu, pneumococcal disease, typhoid and hepatitis B in India.
The IIPS study, published last in World Health Organisation’s Bulletin, showed vaccine uptake is higher among respondents with cardiovascular disease, diabetes or lung disease than those without any of these. “Uptake of influenza vaccine was increased amongst these with lung illness whereas hepatitis B vaccine uptake was increased amongst these with heart problems or diabetes,” stated the research. Other elements that influenced grownup vaccination had been male gender, wealth, city handle, extra schooling and present medical situations.
Doctors stated the current uptake in grownup vaccination in Mumbai is an indication of rising consciousness, however there may be nonetheless an extended method to go. Infectious ailments specialist Dr Vasant Nagvekar stated there’s a have to create larger consciousness not simply concerning the flu and pneumococcal vaccines, but additionally others. “A pregnant woman should be very careful if she gets chicken pox. While the disease is mild among children, it is 100 times more severe in adults,” said Dr Nagvekar. In the pandemic, people took two shots even as breakthrough infection was seen. “A vaccine might not stop the illness in all, on a regular basis, but it surely actually reduces severity.”
Many doctors mention similar conversions among their elderly patients. Senior physician Dr Hemant Thacker said there has been a four-fold increase in his patients seeking the flu vaccine in the past couple of years.
“But greater than the Covid pandemic, it was the current outbreak of H1N1 and H3N2 flu viruses in Mumbai that modified folks’s minds,” said Dr Thacker.
Although adult vaccination is an established concept in the developed world, local studies show many are unaware about it and most believe vaccines are for children.
An analysis by International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) in Deonar has shown less than 2% of the adult population take each of the vaccines meant for flu, pneumococcal disease, typhoid and hepatitis B in India.
The IIPS study, published last in World Health Organisation’s Bulletin, showed vaccine uptake is higher among respondents with cardiovascular disease, diabetes or lung disease than those without any of these. “Uptake of influenza vaccine was increased amongst these with lung illness whereas hepatitis B vaccine uptake was increased amongst these with heart problems or diabetes,” stated the research. Other elements that influenced grownup vaccination had been male gender, wealth, city handle, extra schooling and present medical situations.
Doctors stated the current uptake in grownup vaccination in Mumbai is an indication of rising consciousness, however there may be nonetheless an extended method to go. Infectious ailments specialist Dr Vasant Nagvekar stated there’s a have to create larger consciousness not simply concerning the flu and pneumococcal vaccines, but additionally others. “A pregnant woman should be very careful if she gets chicken pox. While the disease is mild among children, it is 100 times more severe in adults,” said Dr Nagvekar. In the pandemic, people took two shots even as breakthrough infection was seen. “A vaccine might not stop the illness in all, on a regular basis, but it surely actually reduces severity.”
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