AOA urges all people to focus on vaccination

Back to school is an annual reminder to make sure children are fully vaccinated. But vaccination is a life-long health concern and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) urges adults to use the seasonal cue to ensure their own immunizations are up to date.

Vaccine-preventable diseases - such as measles, mumps, flu and whooping cough - are an ongoing public health threat, with an active mumps outbreak currently reported in Illinois. Outbreaks in 2015 infected patients of all ages and resulted in hospitalizations and death.

The AOA, which represents the more than 110,000 osteopathic physicians (DOs) and medical students in the U.S, resolved at its annual business meeting that DOs should treat patients' vaccination history as an integral part of their health record. That new policy also urges DOs to take all reasonable steps to ensure patients are fully immunized against vaccine-preventable illness regardless of their age.

The policy is important guidance for physicians because adults typically assume they were fully vaccinated as children, said Jennifer Caudle, DO, assistant professor of family medicine at Rowan University. That assumption wasn't an issue when vaccination compliance was high and many illnesses were at or near eradication levels, Caudle added. Today, even those who were fully vaccinated may have waning immunity, leaving them vulnerable to outbreak illnesses.

"Vaccination schedules change over time and the ongoing outbreaks show us the importance of ensuring all patients are protected to the current standard," Dr. Caudle explained. "As an osteopathic family physician, I believe vaccination is one of most effective tools available to keep my patients healthy, particularly when there are known threats."

It's not uncommon to lose vaccination records. If you're unable to verify which vaccines you've received, Dr. Caudle recommends talking with your doctor about testing for immunity or repeating vaccinations.

"It's never been more important for doctors and physicians to work together to ensure vaccinations and health records are up to date. For most patients, it is safe to receive additional vaccination doses or test for immunity to certain diseases." said Caudle. "With the growing number of infectious disease outbreaks, you are doing more harm for yourself and those around you if you don't get vaccinated."