Ankara Medical Journal, vol.23, no.1, pp.350-363, 2021 (Scopus)
© 2021 Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University. All rights reserved.Objectives: There is no compulsory vaccination for individuals aged 65 and over in Turkey, there is no precise data about the immunization status of this age group. For this reason, our study is planned to contribute to both national and international literature. The study aimed to evaluate to vaccination status of individuals aged 65 and over who applied to the adult immunization unit of a Tertiary University Hospital in Turkey. Materials and Methods: In our study, age-gender distribution and vaccination status of individuals aged 65 and over who applied to the Adult Vaccination Unit within the Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Department of Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine between June 2020 and June 2021, and vaccination status with influenza-pneumococcal-tetanus vaccines rates were evaluated. Results: A total of 1194 persons (53.4% of women) were reached. 830 (69.5%) of the individuals divided into two according to age groups were in the 65-75 age range; 364 (30.5%) of them were over 75 years old. Prevenar 13 constitutes 76.72% of the vaccines administered in our outpatient clinic, while the tetanus-diphtheria vaccine is in the second place (15.41%), and the influenza vaccine is in the third place (7.03%). Conclusion: In preventing infectious diseases and related complications in adults aged 65 and over; thus, the importance of effective vaccination in reducing morbidity and mortality is indisputable.