Adult risk groups for vaccine preventable respiratory infections: an overview of the UK environment.

Publication date: Nov 14, 2024

Vaccine-preventable respiratory infections (VPRI) including those caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pose substantial challenges to health and social care systems. In the UK, routine adult respiratory vaccination programs are in place. The objective of this article is to review the current evidence on the impact of four seasonal VPRIs in adults risk group definitions and to explore the strengths and limitations of current recommendations, and to identify evidence gaps for further research. Relevant evidence on UK data from surveillance systems, observational studies and publicly available government documents is collated and reviewed, as well as selected global data. Disparities exist between adult risk group categories for different respiratory vaccination programs as defined in the current vaccination guidance. The burden of multiple respiratory pathogens signifies importance of routine multi-pathogen testing with the need for a resilient and large-scale national surveillance system. Further understanding of epidemiological trends and disease burden will help guide decision-making and planning of targeted strategies for disease prevention and control. Addressing inequalities in disease burden and vaccine coverage particularly in clinical risk groups, and promoting equitable vaccine access remain a priority.

Concepts Keywords
Coronavirus Acute respiratory infection
Epidemiological clinical risk groups
Group influenza
Pneumoniae pneumococcal disease
Vaccination respiratory disease
respiratory syncytial virus
SARS-CoV-2
vaccine coverage
vaccine uptake
vaccine-preventable respiratory infection

Semantics

Type Source Name
disease MESH respiratory infections
disease MESH influenza
disease IDO pathogen
disease MESH infection
disease MESH pneumococcal disease

Original Article

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