Vacunación en el adulto

Among the multiple activities of every medical doctor, we have the prevention of diseases. One of the greatest achievements of the 21 century in public health is the vaccination, considered as primary prevention of diseases. The recommendations for vaccination in Mexico and in the world, within the pediatric years are very clear, but not for the adult period. We expect the medical community to be aware of the necessity to vaccinate the adult population, provide an attainable guide for immunization in the adulthood and tools to update our knowledge in this topic. The schedule for the general adult population comprises the following vaccines: Influenza (Aged > 60 years in Mexico, aged > 50 USA), Pneumococcal (Aged > 60 in Mexico, aged > 65 USA), Tetanus/Diphtheria (1 dose booster every 10 years). The rest of the vaccines: Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Measles/Mumps/Rubella, Varicella, Meningococcal, Cholera, Yellow-fever, Typhoid-fever, Rabies have their specific indications, detailed inside the article. Most of the adults have not been immunized in accordance with the guidelines, that is the reason why we should make an effort to vaccinate our adult patients. Every medical doctor who sees adults, should consider always the possibility to apply the corresponding vaccines depending on the case, and not only to devote the outpatient consult to solve the chief complaint, because we do not treat only sufferings but suffers.