ATLANTA - The government said Thursday that less than two-thirds of the nation's senior citizens have been vaccinated against flu and pneumonia -- well short of the government's goal of 90 percent by 2010. <br>
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In a 2001 survey of nearly 40,000 elderly people by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 65 percent said they had received a flu shot in the preceding year, and only 60 percent had gotten a shot against the most common form of bacterial pneumonia. <br>
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Flu kills 18,000 senior citizens a year in the United States. Pneumococcal disease, which includes pneumonia and bacterial meningitis, is responsible for 3,400 deaths among the elderly. <br>
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The 90 percent goal was set two years ago. <br>
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The CDC recommended doctors do more to offer shots to their patients.
