Recommended immunizations for older adults: a primer for pharmacists.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the effectiveness and safety of currently recommended vaccines in older adults.

DATA SOURCES

PubMed was used to search for relevant articles. Key words searched included: immunosenescence, influenza vaccine efficacy, influenza vaccine safety, Tdap safety and efficacy elderly, Td safety and efficacy elderly, pneumococcal vaccine safety and efficacy elderly, pneumococcal vaccine efficacy, Recombivax safety and efficacy elderly, Zostavax safety and efficacy, influenza vaccine timing, frailty and immunosenescence.

STUDY SELECTION/SATA EXTRACTION: Articles were reviewed and selected considering relevance to the subject. Selected articles were written in the English language, conducted mainly in humans, and published from 2008 to 2014, if it was a review article. Articles were then determined to be relevant or irrelevant based on their abstracts.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Immunizations are a major means of preventing diseases, and pharmacists are a frontline health professional, with significant interactions with the older population. There are no recent published reviews that compile the efficacy and safety evidence for recommended immunizations in older people. Pharmacists are often asked questions about the efficacy and safety of these immunizations.

CONCLUSION

Overall, efficacy and safety profiles of currently recommended vaccines are positive in the older population. The least-effective vaccine currently recommended is the varicella-zoster vaccine, with a 50% efficacy. The vaccine with the highest rates of adverse events is the tetanus booster, with local pain and swelling at the injection site.