Vaccinations are recommended throughout life to prevent vaccine-preventable diseases and their sequelae. Adult vaccination coverage, however, remains low for most routinely recommended vaccines and below Healthy People 2020 targets. In October 2014, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) approved the adult immunization schedule for 2015. With the exception of influenza vaccination, which is recommended for all adults each year, other adult vaccinations are recommended for specific populations based on a person's age, health conditions, behavioral risk factors (e.g., injection drug use), occupation, travel, and other indications. To assess vaccination coverage among adults aged ≥19 years for selected vaccines, CDC analyzed data from the 2013 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). This report highlights results of that analysis for pneumococcal, tetanus toxoid-containing (tetanus and diphtheria vaccine [Td] or tetanus and diphtheria with acellular pertussis vaccine [Tdap]), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, herpes zoster (shingles), and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines by selected characteristics (age, race/ethnicity,† and vaccination indication). Influenza vaccination coverage estimates for the 2013-14 influenza season have been published separately. Compared with 2012, only modest increases occurred in Tdap vaccination among adults aged ≥19 years (a 2.9 percentage point increase to 17.2%), herpes zoster vaccination among adults aged ≥60 years (a 4.1 percentage point increase to 24.2%), and HPV vaccination among males aged 19-26 years (a 3.6 percentage point increase to 5.9%); coverage among adults in the United States for the other vaccines did not improve. Racial/ethnic disparities in coverage persisted for all six vaccines and widened for Tdap and herpes zoster vaccination. Increases in vaccination coverage are needed to reduce the occurrence of vaccine-preventable diseases among adults. Awareness of the need for vaccines for adults is low among the general population, and adult patients largely rely on health care provider recommendations for vaccination. The Community Preventive Services Task Force and the National Vaccine Advisory Committee have recommended that health care providers incorporate vaccination needs assessment, recommendation, and offer of vaccination into every clinical encounter with adult patients to improve vaccination rates and to narrow the widening racial/ethnic disparities in vaccination coverage.
