Abstract
Adult vaccination has become an integral part of the work of general practitioners and many specialists in modern times. Vaccination is important not just in primary care, and it is the most effective and unsurpassed disease prevention tool, but it also finds use among specialists and in hospitals as a part of complex care for chronically ill patients.
A group of authors, specialists in the field of vaccinology, set out to create a monograph focused on vaccinations in adults - a larger, yet comparably neglected group, publication-wise. The book is aimed at GPs, primary care physicians, specialists working in both outpatient and hospital care, epidemiologists, infectologists, and vaccination centre staff, including non-medical staff.
There is also useful information for medical students and students of other healthcare related fields. The book brings a complex look at adult vaccination, from its history, to immunological aspects, creation of vaccination schedules for adults, to vaccinations against selected diseases and specific issues in chronically ill patients, including immunosuppressed patients, all the way to practical aspects of vaccinations at a doctor's practice and vaccine safety.
Separate chapters are devoted to vaccinations in pregnant and breast-feeding women, healthcare workers or travel-related vaccinations. The book also highlights legal aspects of vaccination and the possible ways of communication between a physician and a person interested in vaccination.
Chapters about unsubstantiated myths about vaccination and development of new vaccines for adults logically conclude the whole issue. Each chapter contains a summary for clinical practice.
Apart from standard vaccination procedures, the reader can also peruse recommendations for special cases, structured vaccination schedules depending on patients' ages, the disease and the risks, along with child vaccination schedules. The authors believe that they are offering a publication to the readers which will become a practical and widely used tool for vaccination not just in general prevention but also in specific situations and conditions, regardless of the patients or vaccinees age.