Adolescent vaccines: Need special focus in India

Abstract

WHO defines adolescence age between 10 to 19 years. In India, there are 243 million adolescents which constitute 21 per cent of the total population. The global burden of disease in adolescents (2011) reports that the total number of disability adjusted life years (DALYs) worldwide among adolescents were 230 million which constitutes 15.5% of total DALYs. The immunization is one of the most important, most beneficial and cost-effective disease prevention measures that can be provided for adolescents. The adolescent vaccination protects most of the world's adolescents from a number of infectious diseases that previously claimed millions of lives each year. In India, thousands of adolescents die and thousands are hospitalized every year due to communicable diseases that could have been prevented by vaccination. Main aims of adolescent vaccinations are: to boost immunity status that is waning after completion of primary immunization or absence of “natural” boosting due exposure to the particular disease. The recommendations for the immunization of adolescents are to improve vaccination coverage among them. The adolescent vaccinations also help in accelerate disease control or elimination effort. Improvement in adolescent immunization coverage in India, will require strengthening of health care delivery system and also require significant improvements in the health care functionaries ability and willingness to provide and deliver vaccines to adolescents.