According to a new survey conducted by NFID (National Foundation for Infectious Diseases), the vast majority of American adults, 77%, support vaccines. However, there is widespread uncertainty regarding which specific vaccines people need.
The survey, which is conducted annually, sought to gather the views of the public across the country on matters of vaccination. The survey largely focused on vaccines designed for respiratory conditions, specifically flu, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), pneumococcal disease, and Covid-19.
The survey results showed that while Americans hold positive views about vaccines, there is a gap in their clarity on the specific vaccines they need to get periodically. That gap presents an opportunity for policymakers and healthcare professionals to provide the needed clarity so that vaccine uptake can match the positive views that people hold towards these interventions.
A stark finding highlights the importance of addressing this knowledge gap: 77% are positive towards vaccination, yet only 48% made an effort to get vaccinated for at least one of those four vaccine-preventable illnesses listed above within the past year.
Such low vaccine uptake makes the country miss out on the benefits of those vaccines, such as protection against those diseases, slashing the risk of serious complications from illness, minimization of hospitalizations, and reducing the severity of disease among those who get infected.
Speaking during the release of the survey findings, the Medical Director of NFID Robert Hopkins, Jr., decried the lost opportunity to protect families and loved ones against these infections if fewer people are actually getting vaccinated regularly.
The foundation exists for providing clarity on these issues, according to the survey results. About 60% of the respondents said they trusted or had a lot of trust in healthcare professionals on matters of their health. This provides an opportunity for the medical community to provide uniform vaccine guidance to those they take care of so that people are sure which vaccines they need, and how often to get them.
The survey also uncovered gaps on matters of vaccine accessibility. 22% of survey participants revealed that they encountered a challenge when seeking respiratory vaccines. These problems included lack of the vaccine they needed, or having to wait a long time at the medical facility where they went to get vaccinated.
Such accessibility issues present an opportunity to address the barriers people encounter in their bid to get vaccinated. When those gaps are filled, vaccine uptake is bound to improve, and every improvement in the number of people getting vaccinated translates into clearly measurable public health benefits, such as reducing the economic toll of these infectious diseases.
As measures are taken to increase the number of people who get vaccinated against respiratory infectious diseases, the parallel efforts being focused on by firms like Co-Diagnostics Inc. (NASDAQ: CODX) to develop accessible and affordable testing kits for use at home and in non-hospital settings will help in diagnosing these diseases early and preventing them from progressing to potentially life-threatening levels.
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