The Time is Now: Turning up the Dial on Adult Immunization Across the Globe

Vaccines are global health’s biggest success, helping people of all ages live longer, healthier lives. The Covid-19 pandemic emphasized the critical link between health and the economy, spotlighting the importance of adult immunization to achieve societal wellbeing and recover economic prosperity. By 2030, the number of people aged 60 years and older is expected to increase by more than a third, to 1.4 billion people. Prioritizing adult immunization can help individuals to live life more fully leading to a healthier workforce, reduced healthcare spending and improved capacity, and increased productivity and tax revenues. Furthermore, it’s integration now will increase system resiliency and government preparedness for future pandemics. Adult vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) remain a major cause of morbidity, mortality and health system cost. Too often, adults miss the opportunity for vaccination, despite being increasingly susceptible to immune decline and infectious diseases and putting them at greater risk of chronic conditions. Despite the clear benefits vaccination coverage is almost always much lower in adults than in pediatric vaccination programs. Even more importantly, over 80% of the vaccines in development target adults, ushering in a new era of healthy living and disease prevention. Significant progress was made during the Covid-19 response globally, but more work is needed to fully capitalize on adult immunization. This session will explore the policies and political will needed to make adult immunization a standard of care globally, including the role of national recommendations and adequate funding to implement equitable and accessible vaccination programs, increasing the number of vaccinators, expanding beyond doctors and medical clinics, the use of timely data to track progress and enable follow up, and reinforcing HCP and consumer education.