From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov

Transcript for: Routine Vaccinations for Adults

Description: U.S. school children generally have higher rates of
vaccination to protect them from preventable illness compared with
adults. 

We found gaps in adult rates for flu, shingles, tetanus, and
pneumococcal (prevents pneumonia and more) vaccines.

Among other things, adults were about 40% more likely to get the tetanus
and pneumococcal vaccines than the shingles vaccine and vaccination
rates for Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino adults were
about 13% below that of White adults for each vaccine.

Health and Human Services is using social media and its website to raise
public awareness on the importance of being vaccinated.

Related GAO Works: GAO-22-105334. Routine Vaccinations: Adult Rates Vary
by Vaccine Type and Other Factors

Routine vaccines can help prevent diseases like flu, tetanus, and
bacterial pneumonia. 

So why are so many  U.S. adults missing out on them? 

There are several factors contributing to low vaccination rates among
adults. 

For example, children have guaranteed coverage for recommended vaccines,
but some adults face high out-of-pocket costs.

We also noted disparities among demographic groups and across types of
vaccines. 

The Department of Health and Human Services has a variety of efforts to
improve adult vaccination rates and 45 states offer free routine
vaccines to qualifying adults.

Find out more at GAO.gov.

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For more info, check out our report GAO-22-105088 at: GAO.gov