“The Importance of Vaccinations for Elderly Health: Expert Insight from Dr. Thomas Grünewald on Pneumonia, Shingles, and Other Vital Vaccines Missed by Many – European Vaccination Week 2023”

2023-04-24 10:49:49

by Beate Splett, the main thing is healthy

As of April 24, 2023, 10:50 am

When it comes to preventive medical check-ups in childhood and adolescence, vaccinations are usually a matter of course. The older we get, the more the topic is often forgotten. Certain vaccinations or boosters are very important, especially in old age. On the occasion of the European Vaccination Week from April 23 to 29, 2023, “main thing healthy” Dr. Thomas Grünewald, the chairman of the Saxon Vaccination Commission (Siko), asked which vaccinations the elderly among us should keep an eye on.

In the past few months, we have mainly talked about the corona vaccinations. Which other vaccinations are particularly important for older people who are often not even thought of?

dr Thomas Grunewald: In addition to the annual influenza vaccination, vaccinations against pneumococci, i.e. pneumonia, and vaccination against shingles (herpes zoster) are at the top of the list.

How often do vaccinations need to be refreshed?

dr Thomas Grunewald: If necessary, the pneumococcal vaccination should be refreshed every five to six years. It should also not be forgotten that the vaccination protection against whooping cough, tetanus as well as diphtheria and polio should be refreshed every ten years. We are currently experiencing an increase in diphtheria cases in Germany, so that adequate vaccination protection is important here.

What about the vaccination against shingles?

dr Thomas Grunewald: For shingles, two vaccinations are given three to six months apart.

Vaccination against shingles has been recommended for people over the age of 60 and at-risk patients for some time. Difficult courses can often be prevented. Why do so few take up the offer?

dr Thomas Grunewald: Shingles manifests itself as part of a reactivation of the chickenpox virus (VZV). The number of cases in industrialized countries has risen continuously over the past 20 years, as has the number of people at risk.

dr Thomas Grünewald is chairman of Siko and head of the Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine in Chemnitz.
Image rights: MDR

Many people are not aware that such a shingles disease, which is an unpleasant disease in itself, can lead to serious secondary diseases. These are above all post-herpetic nerve pain, but also heart attacks and above all strokes, which represent a considerable burden for those affected. There is a lack of education and awareness of a very effective vaccine. The risk of developing shingles is reduced by 80 to 85 percent, that of post-herpetic pain by more than 80 percent. Efficacy in immunocompromised people, who are at highest risk for shingles, is just as good.

There is a new pneumococcal vaccine Apexxnar. The Standing Committee on Vaccination has not yet recommended it, although studies say it protects better. Why?

dr Thomas Grunewald: In Saxony by the Saxon Vaccination Commission (SIKO) as well as in the USA, this vaccine is already recommended, as is the second new vaccine against pneumococci (“Vaxneuvance”), but there is currently no guarantee that the health insurance companies will cover the costs. However, an individual application for the assumption of costs should definitely be attempted.

The data here show that these vaccines, in which the pneumococcal proteins are coupled to an effect enhancer, are effective against a higher number of pneumococcal (capsule) types than the previous vaccines, so that the administration presumably results in a higher number of severe Pneumococcal infections can be avoided.

It can take some time from approval to recommendation, especially since the recommendation then has to be included in the general vaccination catalog of the so-called joint federal committee (gBA).

Keyword European Vaccination WeekThe European Vaccination Week 2023 starts on April 23rd and runs until April 29th. The campaign is intended to raise awareness of vaccination protection among parents, organizations and the media, help to close vaccination gaps and thus lead to higher vaccination rates in order to prevent possible chains of infection. 2005 was the first European Vaccination Week.

In your opinion, what would have to happen so that older people also pay more attention to their vaccination protection?

dr Thomas Grunewald: As a highly effective preventive measure, vaccination is part of the public service and is also extremely cost-effective. We need even more low-threshold offers, especially in care facilities, and additional innovative, imaginative concepts (e.g. school vaccinations, mobile vaccinations, etc.) in order to be able to offer vaccinations to as many vulnerable people as possible.

What demands do you have in general on the subject of vaccination?

dr Thomas Grunewald: The importance of preventive measures is still underestimated. When it comes to vaccinations, we need to objectify the discussion again. The processes from the development to the introduction of vaccines could be condensed, i.e. shortened. The understanding of effectiveness, of desired but also undesired effects, should be approached early on in an educational manner, for example in schools. After all, we have two vaccines that have a cancer-preventive effect (HPV and hepatitis B). Here we use our knowledge far too little.

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