Serene Retirement Communities Promotes Immunization In Senior Citizens

Leading senior care community Serene Retirement Communities conducted a panel discussion on Immunization of senior citizens in India. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) June 14, 2014 - Chennai - The event which took place recently at Soundaryam - Santosham Comfort & Retirement Houses Coimbatore was specifically designed to emphasize the importance of vaccinations in senior care.

Dr. Sujith Kumar.S, Professor - Internal Medicine says, "After a lifetime of working, raising families, and contributing to the success of this nation in countless other ways, senior citizens deserve to retire with happiness and a healthy life. Senior Citizens are a treasure to our society, which needs to be taken care of. In India, vaccination for the elderly is still in its infancy and the subject has not received enough attention of the health authorities"

This initiative taken by Serene in conjunction is the first of its kind in India on Immunization for senior citizens. The main objective of the Seminar is to educate and promote the use of immunizations in seniors (60+) in order to create the much needed interest and encouragement in them towards the recommended vaccinations to boost their immunity.

Ageing is associated with waning immunity due to reduced or defective functioning of the organs and cells of the immune system including thymus, bone marrow, spleen and lymph nodes. Several medical procedures like vaccinations, restriction of calories, hormone therapy, reversing thymic shrinkage and stem cell approaches are under investigation for correcting these problems. Of these, vaccinations have proved to be reliable and cost-effective. New and better vaccinations are available now.

Dr. Yasmin Basha, General Physician & Social Activist, says "The health care concerns of the senior citizens is a global challenge. As per the data of the United Nation's Population Division for the year 2006, there were 690 million senior citizens accounting for 11% of the total world population. The Census of India, 2011 revealed that there were approximately 76 million senior citizens (7.44% of the total Indian population)."

There are many benefits of vaccination. Vaccinated older adults help prevent the spread of disease through family and community. Vaccination safeguards high risk groups like those on special occupations, lifestyles, environmental situations, and travel to certain parts of the world where vaccine-preventable diseases still exist (e.g., polio, yellow fever, hepatitis B, rabies, meningococcal meningitis, typhoid, cholera, and plague).

The risk factors necessitating vaccinations include, frequent travel abroad and within the country, pilgrimages, prolonged medications, surgeries, receiving hemodialysis or lacking a functional spleen (splenectomy), immuno-compromised conditions like HIV/AIDS, bone marrow transplantations, cancer chemotherapy, chronic diseases like asthma/ chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD), kidney and heart failure, diabetes mellitus, alcoholism and chronic smoking. Persons living in nursing homes and long-term care facilities face a higher risk for severe pneumococcal disease. Waning immunity to childhood vaccinations like diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis also poses a higher risk.

However, Seniors, especially persons with allergy to any part of the vaccine, epilepsy, taking treatment with high-dose steroids, cancer treatment with radiation or chemotherapy, HIV/AIDS or any disease that affects the immune system, should undergo vaccinations strictly under the guidance and supervision of competent physicians or geriatricians. The elderly are like children and have a vulnerable immune system. Certain childhood vaccines protect them for the entire lifetime. But for other vaccines booster doses are required. Many adults feel that they do not need vaccinations since they are not well aware of the benefits of vaccinations. There is a strong need to create necessary awareness in them through educational and promotional programs and geriatric counselling.

For Further Info:
K Ravi Shankar / Rajalekshme Ranganathan
MSL Group
ravishankar.kandarpa ( @ ) mslgroup dot com / rajalekshme dot ranganathan ( @ ) mslgroup dot com
+919382887608 / +919500088290

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