Poll: Czech adults underestimate optional vaccination

Prague, July 3 (CTK) - Adult Czechs underestimate prevention in health care as only 26 percent of them undergo optional vaccination, according to a poll conducted by the STEM/MARK agency in April and released to CTK.

Only 63 percent of adult Czechs are watching the deadlines for obligatory vaccinations, while almost 100 percent of children are vaccinated and revaccinated.

People's interest in vaccination is declining with a rising age. Elderly men ignore it most of all.

The poll was conducted on 1088 people over 18 years.

Seventy percent of women but only 55 percent of men seek the obligatory revaccination (for instance against tetanus) within the deadline.

Optional vaccination (for instance against flu or tick-borne encephalitis, TBE) is used by one-third of Czech citizens aged 18-29, 21 percent of those aged 45-59 years and 23 percent of people over 60.

Doctors point out that vaccination plays an important role in prevention mainly in the case of elderly people. They often suffer from chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disorders, and this is why their course of another illness, for example, flu, can be more complicated.

Older people are more responsible as far as obligatory vaccination and revaccination is concerned, while in the case of optional vaccination, the responsibility is decreasing with a higher age.

Sixty-seven percent of people aged 45-59 years and 66 percent of those over 60 meet the deadline for revaccination.

On the the other hand, the elderly undergo optional vaccination the least often of all age groups.

They say they fear undesirable side effects and mind high prices of vaccines. A total of 27 percent of the elderly consider them too expensive.

One-fifth of Czechs are of the view that they need not be inoculated as they do not feel threatened with the respective disease.

People seek vaccination most often for fear of illnesses (65 percent), while 12 percent are vaccinated at a doctor' recommendation, another 10 percent belong to a risk group, 5 percent want to protect people around them and 5 percent follow a recommendation of a family member or a friend, according to the poll.