ISBN: 9780323662109
Pub Date: 21 November 2018
Reviewed by: Manasa Velagapudi, MBBS (CHI Health Clinic CUMC – Bergan Mercy)
Description
This book on major issues faced by those who recommend and deliver vaccinations to adults addresses a variety of key concepts, among them travel vaccines, vaccine acceptance, and vaccines in the elderly. Its initial chapters describe the concepts of vaccine safety and various interpersonal communication approaches to improve vaccine acceptance. The rest of the book focuses mainly on updates of both common and rarely used vaccines.
Purpose
The book aims “to provide a concise update on the current practice of adult vaccinology.” Rather than being comprehensive, the book focuses on areas that are “dynamic — new vaccines, new recommendations, new diseases, and new issues.”
Audience
It would be of interest to, and a great resource for, a wide variety of audiences, including infectious diseases physicians, internists, HIV/AIDS specialists, microbiologists, public health experts, nurses, and other healthcare personnel involved in vaccinating adults.
Features
Chapters dealing with specific vaccines cover zoster, Zika, influenza, meningococcal, and pneumococcal. Pertussis has a single index entry directing the reader to part of the chapter on immunizations for healthcare personnel, and the index has no entries for tetanus or measles. Many graphs and tables illustrate vaccine recommendations, administration schedules, and efficacy very effectively. The authors have done an excellent job of using specific examples of counseling approaches to improve vaccine acceptance. The material on immunosenescence, vaccines in immunocompromised hosts, and immunizations for healthcare personnel are special features of this book.
Assessment
This book will augment readers’ understanding of core principles of adult vaccinology, including strategies to improve the vaccine acceptance and the areas of foment in this field. In an era challenged by vaccine hesitancy, it is timely. This is not a recapitulation of the CDC adult immunization schedule.For basic background on the adult immunization schedule, consider instead the CDC “Pink Book” Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, 13th edition, (Public Health Foundation, 2015). Nor is it a comprehensive, research-oriented book like Plotkin’s Vaccines, 7th edition, Plotkin et al. (Elsevier, 2018). Its 15-page chapter on vaccines for adult travelers is much shorter than the 72 pages on immunizations in Travel Medicine, 4th edition, Keystone et al. (Elsevier, 2019).However, this book does present critical information, such as the incidence of yellow fever and the incidence of adverse reactions to the yellow fever vaccine.
Doody’s Review Service Weighted Numerical Score: 91- 4 Stars
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