December 2003 · Vol. 15, No. 12Women’s Health:
A realistic vaccination program for all patients, including gravidas
‘Delegate’ is the key to success for this simple screening and vaccination protocol, which uses free forms available online. A detailed chart covers vaccination during pregnancy.
STANLEY
A
GALL,
MDDr. Gall is professor of obstetrics and gynecology, public health, and information science at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky.
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KEY POINTS
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Adults, not children, incur a greater risk of death due to vaccine-preventable diseases.
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During flu season, almost half of the hospitalizations and deaths for cardiopulmonary conditios in healthy pregnant women are due to influenza.
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Screening all gravidas for hepatitis B surface antigen would prevent chronic hepatitis B viral infection in 6,000 neonates every year.
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Only 54% of community-dwelling elderly persons are immunized against Streptococcus pneumoniae, which has a 55% to 60% mortality rate in persons aged 70 or older.
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Influenza is more likely to cause death in middle-aged persons with multiple medical conditions than in healthy elderly persons.
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Because of our unique access to women at all stages of life—who often consult no other physician—Ob/Gyns are well positioned to proclaim and bestow the benefits of vaccination.
For women who are pregnant or planning to conceive, benefits extend to the neonate through the first 4 to 6 months of life. For all women, especially those with coexisting chronic diseases, immunization stands to reduce mortality and serious morbidity.
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