BACKGROUND Adult vaccination rates in the United States are well below recommendations with disparities in race, ethnicity, and education level resulting in even lower rates for these populations. This study aimed to identify the barriers to and perceptions of immunizations in adults in an urban, underserved, multicultural community. Understanding the factors that influence adults' decisions to...

Vaccines are one of the greatest public health achievements, preventing both mortality and morbidity. However, overall immunization rates are still below the 90% target for Healthy People 2020. There remain significant disparities in immunization rates between children of different racial/ethnic groups, as well as among economically disadvantaged populations. There are systemic issues and chall...

Recommendations for routine vaccinations in children and adolescents have changed multiple times in recent years, based on findings in clinical trials, licensure of new vaccines, and evidence of waning immunity. Despite the overwhelming success of vaccinations, vaccine delay and refusal are leading to pockets of vaccine-preventable diseases. Schedules for diphtheria and tetanus toxoids, and ace...

At a 2-month health supervision visit, Monica's pediatrician was surprised by her mother's wish to withhold immunizations. At prior encounters with her parents, including a prenatal visit, the meeting after Monica's birth, and the 2-week health supervision visit, there was no indication that standard immunizations would be refused. Monica's parents informed her pediatrician that the potential s...

Neonatal tetanus is still an important public health problem in both urban and rural Bangladesh, with an estimated 41,000 cases occurring annually. This article analyses the coverage of tetanus toxoid (TT) immunizations among women of reproductive age in Zone 3 of Dhaka City in 1995. Although 85% of women with a child under 1 year of age had received two TT immunizations, only 11% of women of r...

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic pathogen, is a common cause of healthcare-associated infections in immunocompromised individuals. The rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant strains has made P. aeruginosa infections progressively difficult to treat. In this study we evaluated the effect of a chimeric protein containing a P. aeruginosa PilQ fragment and the PilA disulfide loo...