<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of American adults die each year from pneumonia, influenza and other infectious diseases that could be prevented by routine vaccinations, according to a report released Thursday.</p><p>Only about a third of seniors were vaccinated in 2008 against pneumonia, a complication of seasonal flu, according to the report released by the Trust For America's Health, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.</p><p>Merck and Co makes a vaccine called Pneumovax to protect adults against Streptococcus pneumoniae infections, which cause pneumonia and a range of other illnesses. But U.S. health officials say only about a quarter of adults who should get it ever do.</p><p>Children are protected against seven strains of S. pneumoniae bacteria with Pfizer Inc's Prevnar.</p><p>Overall, adult vaccination rates are particularly low for minority groups, according to the report.</p><p>Sixty-nine percent of older whites received the seasonal flu vaccine in 2008, compared to 53 percent of older African Americans and 51 percent of older Hispanics, the report found.</p><p>Only 36 percent of all adults were vaccinated against the seasonal flu in 2008 and only about 2 percent of adults had tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough vaccines, the report found.</p><p>Limited health insurance coverage, high out-of-pocket costs and limited access are major reasons adults skip vaccinations, but misinformation is also an obstacle, the report said.</p><p>"Despite the evidence of safety and effectiveness of vaccines, many adults are unaware that they need certain vaccinations or are misinformed about vaccines," the report said.</p><p>Millions of American adults go without routine vaccinations every year, leading to as many as 50,000 preventable deaths and thousands of preventable diseases, the report said.</p><p>Pneumococcal disease alone kills more than 1.6 million people worldwide each year, including 800,000 children.</p><p>Diseases that can be prevented by vaccines add an estimated $10 billion a year to U.S. healthcare costs, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p><p>The immunization report says adults need vaccinations for new diseases and booster shots for diseases they were vaccinated against as children, because the immunity may wane over time.</p><p>(Editing by Eric Beech)</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=68452135&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

Copyright 2010  <a href="http://www.reuters.com/finance">Reuters US Online Report Health News</a></div></div>