The Philippine Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology (PSGG) is pushing for the re-vaccination of the country’s elderly population to allow them to complete their life-course immunization and to prevent them from contracting severe infection that could lead to their untimely demise when getting sick with vaccine preventable illnesses.
Dr. Lourdes Carolina Dumlao, PSGG president, claimed that the group is closely working with the various elderly associations to ensure the effective and efficient roll out of the re-vaccination of the senior citizens to guarantee their being spared from severe infection of vaccine preventable illnesses.
Dumlao was one the experts who spoke during the Seminar Workshop on Injecting Hoe Catch Up Vaccination and Life Course Immunization spearheaded by the Philippine Press Institute, the national association of newspapers, in partnership with Pfizer Philippines, the Pharmaceutical and Health Care Association of the Philippines, the Philippine Alliance of Patient Organizations (PAPO), the Philippine Medical Association and the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination, Inc.
Further, she disclosed that the group is also closely working with the Philippine Health Insurance corporation for the offering of a wellness package for senior citizens to lessen the out of the pocket money of the elderly when availing of their flu and pneumonia vaccines that are prescribed once individuals reach the age of 60 and above.
She claimed that the elderly usually encounter immunosenescence and inflammaging that must be given attention for them to reduce the possibility of being afflicted with vaccine preventable illnesses that may compromise their health condition once they are not fully or completely vaccinated.
Immunosenescence refers to the changes that the immune system of an aging individual undergoes that affects both natural or acquired immunity and can be influenced by various factors.
On the other hand, inflammaging refers to the low grade, sterile chronic inflammation in aging and progressive decrease in the aging body’s ability to trigger effective antibody and cellular responses against infection and vaccination.
Among the common causes and consequences of muscle mass and function loss among the elderly include sarcopenia, disease-related malnutrition, hospitalization, anabolic resistance, reduced blood flow, impaired regenerative capacity, mitochondrial dysfunction and insulin resistance.
According to her, the negative outcomes of the said illnesses of the elderly may cause metabolic disorders, impaired functions, disability, increased hospital tendency and worst, mortality.
Dumalo reported that 8.7 percent of the country’s population is 60 years old and above where 5.3 million are males and slightly more than 5 million are females.
For this year, the government procured more than 5 million flu vaccines that will be inoculated to the indigent senior citizens to help them build up their immune system against flu that might compromise their health condition in the future. By Dexter A. See
