Adult Immunisation

The aims of this article are to identify what immunisations recommended for people of working age and what negative expressions generally heard from people resisting immunisation.

This post will give the answer which is compiled from many sources but is not specific for one country or region. In general, immunisations are recommended for people of working age that are come into contact with infectious people, animals and body fluid (such as blood) or products that may be at risk of getting vaccine-preventable diseases.

Some examples of circumstances where immunisations are needed:

• Hepatitis B for workers who have regular contact with human blood, body fluids or dispose of needles and syringes such as healthcare workers, police and emergency service workers.
• Hepatitis A for workers who live in or often visit rural and remote communities where hepatitis A is prevalent, sewage workers and plumbers, preschool and childcare workers, and carers of intellectual disabilities people.
• Chickenpox (varicella) for primary school teachers, childcare workers and health care workers
• MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) for health care workers and women of childbearing age who have not had these diseases or been vaccinated needs to be safeguarded
• Q fever for abattoir workers, livestock transporters, veterinarians and workers dealing with veterinary specimen, dairy, cows, bulls, sheep and goat farmers.
• Tetanus for workers who usually contact with soil, dust, sewage and animal fertilizer.
• Pertussis for childcare workers and health care workers in paediatric and maternity departments.
• Influenza for health care workers, nursing home and long-term care facilities workers.

International travellers, when visiting some parts of the world, are likely to be exposed to diseases that have almost never seen in their country. Immunization is important, both routine vaccines and others needed for specific geographic regions.

Based on my experiences, some negative statements from people resisting immunisations were:

• Immunisations are just for kids, some workers justified that basic immunisations are enough to protect them.
• Most of those resisting immunisation reported fear of side effects.
• Most of them also reported lack of conviction about efficacy as the main reason.
• Some of them refused due to the costs were quite expensive and the subsidisation from their employer was not enough.

To adopt that stance, some justifications are needed to provide convincing evidence and make further justifications of the importance, side effect and efficacy of the immunisation. Employers should be able to make negotiation about the cost of the immunisation. Lastly, there should be specific program to protect non-immune workers.