Vaccination levels among Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites aged > or =65 years -- Los Angeles County, California, 1996.

An estimated 90% of deaths from pneumonia and influenza occur each year in the United States among adults aged > or = 65 years. Despite the substantial impact of these and other vaccine-preventable diseases on older adults, national vaccination levels are suboptimal and disproportionately lower among some racial/ethnic minorities than among others. For example, in 1995, influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates for older Hispanics (50.0% and 24.2%, respectively) were substantially lower than those for non-Hispanic whites (60.1% and 37.4%, respectively). To develop and implement community-based activities to increase vaccination levels among older Hispanic adults in Los Angeles County, California, the Edward R. Roybal Institute for Applied Gerontology at California State University, Los Angeles, formed a community consortium involving multiple public and private organizations. During August-November 1996, this consortium, in collaboration with the Center for the Study of Latino Health at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), conducted a telephone survey to assess vaccination knowledge, attitudes, and practices of older Hispanic adults and to provide baseline information for developing interventions. This report summarizes the results of the initial assessment conducted in two geographic areas; the findings document low vaccination levels among the populations surveyed and race/ethnicity-specific differences in barriers to vaccination and places where vaccinations were received.