Adults

Millions of Australian adults are unvaccinated and it's increasing disease risk for all of us. Flu vaccination uptake rates are low in adults, including among those who work in health, aged care and childcare.

Immunisation Coalition

About

Public attention has recently focused on improving vaccination rates in Australian infants and children, yet the largest unvaccinated group of people recommended for immunisation is adults.

Of 4.1 million unvaccinated Australians, 92% (3.8 million) are adults, and only a small fraction are children.

Improving adult vaccination rates will reduce their risk of illness and death, and lower transmission of infection in the community.

In contrast, vaccination rates against COVID-19 are relatively high in Australian adults.

Recommended vaccines for adults

The vaccine you need will depend on:

  • If you missed out on any vaccines in childhood
  • Your job
  • Your age
  • Whether you plan to travel
  • If you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person
  • If you are pregnant
  • If you have a chronic medical condition
  • Your personal behaviours eg. sexual practices or drug taking behaviour.

In Australia, the government funds the following adult vaccines:

COVID-19 vaccine for:

  • Adults

Influenza (flu) vaccine for:

  • Older adults (aged 65 years and older)
  • Pregnant women
  • People with certain medical conditions that increase their risk of severe influenza
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from 6 months of age, regardless of medical risk factors

Measles, Mumps, Rubella vaccine (funded in some states) for:

  • Adults who have not received this vaccine in childhood

Pneumococcal vaccine for:

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults aged 50 years and older
  • Non-Indigenous adults 70 years of age and older

Shingles vaccine for:

  • Adults aged 70 years, with catch-up for those aged 71-79 years also funded until October 2023

Vaccines recommended but not funded:

Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis

booster tetanus vaccine for:

  • Adults aged 50 years and over who have not received a tetanus-containing vaccine in the previous 10 years but have received the primary courses
  • Tetanus prone wounds every 5 years

booster pertussis vaccine for:

  • Adults aged 65 years and older who have not received a dose in the previous 10 years
  • Adults in close contact with infants aged less than 6 months of age, if more than 10 years has elapsed since the previous dose

Research shows that Australian adults are under vaccinated against the recommended vaccines:

  • Only 51% of older Australian adults receive all government-funded vaccination each year, compared to 93% of Australian children, and 73% of Australian adolescents
  • Around 40% of people with medical or occupational risk factors receive their annual influenza vaccine
  • Only 13% of indigenous young adults with medical risk factors receive their pneumococcal vaccine.

However, Australia currently has a high vaccination rate against COVID-19

Considering the recent COVID-19 pandemic, as of 23 January 2022, 92.9% of Australians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Strategies that have been used to encourage vaccination are:

  • Providing free COVID-19 vaccination to people over 5 years of age
  • Requirement of evidence of vaccination to attend restaurants, hotels and some other public places (unless a valid exemption has been obtained)
  • Requirement of evidence of vaccination for continued employment (unless a valid exemption has been obtained)
  • Providing media coverage of the benefits of vaccination

Vaccine Preventable Diseases in Adults

Adults contribute substantially to ongoing epidemics of vaccine-preventable diseases.

  • Most cases of whooping cough, for example, occur in adults
  • About half of all cases of measles that occur in Australia are in those aged 19 years or over

In addition to poor adult vaccination rates contributing to the high cost of managing preventable infections, adults are often the starting point for epidemics because they have the highest rate of infections and so transmit infection more. Better vaccination rates in adults will reduce both cost and risk.


What is the cause and the risk in adults?

COVID-19

Cause

COVID-19 is caused by infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus strain.

Complications

The most common complications are of the lungs and respiratory system. The lungs become so severely damaged that they can’t get enough oxygen to the blood and the rest of the body, causing damage to other organs of the body.

Other complications may be:

  • liver, heart, kidney and brain damage
  • secondary infections: when the body develops another infection unrelated to COVID-19 eg. a bacterial infection like Strep or Staph
  • septic shock: a life-threatening condition when the blood pressure drops to a dangerously low level after an infection
  • abnormal blood clotting
  • blood clots causing heart attacks or strokes
  • chronic fatigue: symptoms may include brain fog, severe fatigue, pain, trouble thinking or dizziness
  • rhabdomyolysis: muscles break down and tissues die. As the cell break, a protein is released into the bloodstream which, if the kidneys can’t clear, could be fatal
  • dermatologic: rash
  • neurologic: loss of taste, smell and sleep disturbance
  • psychiatric: depression, anxiety, changes in mood

Influenza

Cause

The flu is caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat and lungs.

Complications

  • acute bronchitis (an infection of the tubes that lead to the lungs)
  • acute otitis media (inflammation or infection of the middle ear causing hearing loss and fever) which is seen more often in smokers
  • serious complications of the heart
  • croup (upper airway infection that causes swelling and blocks breathing to cause a barking cough)
  • encephalitis and/or encephalopathy (inflammation/disease of the brain)
  • haematological abnormalities (blood abnormalities)
  • pneumonia (serious infection of the air sacs of the lungs)
  • Reye syndrome (can cause liver and brain damage) mainly seen in young adults

Measles

Cause

Measles is caused by the measles virus.

Complications

  • inflammation of the brain
  • hearing loss

Mumps

Cause

Mumps is spread by the mumps virus.

Complications

  • inflammation of the brain and tissues covering the brain and spinal cord
  • inflammation of the ovaries, breast tissue and pancreas

Pneumococcal Disease

Cause

Pneumococcal disease is caused by a bacterium known as Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Complications

  • pneumonia
  • meningitis (swelling and infection of the brain)
  • septicaemia (infection of the blood)
  • coma
  • death

Rubella

Cause

Rubella is caused by the rubella virus.

Complications

  • heart problems
  • liver or spleen damage
  • loss of hearing and eyesight
  • intellectual disability
  • birth defects in baby if a pregnant woman develops rubella

Shingles

Cause

Shingles is caused by the same virus (varicella-zoster virus) responsible for chicken pox. The virus becomes reactivated later in life in someone who has had chicken pox.

Complications

  • nerve pain (can persist for months or years after the rash has cleared)
  • eye problems ( eg. double vision)
  • swelling of the brain
  • hearing and balance problems

Whooping cough

Cause

Whooping cough is caused by the bacterium bordetella pertussis.

Complications

  • pneumonia
  • brain injury
  • death

For more information about what vaccine you are eligible for, contact your GP or your state Department of Health.

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  1.  C Raina MacIntyreUNSWHolly SealeUNSW, and Rob MenziesUNSW article was originally published on The Conversation Read the original article 27 March 2017
  2. NCIRS Fact Sheet:  Adult vaccination: vaccines for Australian adults | 1 July 2020 Fact sheet
  3. Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI). Australian Immunisation Handbook, Australian Government Department of Health, Canberra, 2018, immunisationhandbook.health.gov.au.

Page Published: 7 March 2017 | Page Updated: 2 February 2022