UP TO 3.8 million Australian adults are missing out on free vaccinations each year, putting themselves at risk of contracting life-threatening, yet preventable infections, according to a report published in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) today.

The report is titled Vaccine Myopia and highlights the serious issue of low adult vaccination rates.

The report also coincides with the launch of the University of New South Wales Vaccine and Infection Research Lab (UNSW VIRL), Sydney - a national research centre of excellence designed to tackle this issue.

According to lead author and Senior Lecturer at UNSW VIRL, Dr Rob Menzies, only one-in-two Australian adults (51 per cent) are receiving their Government-funded vaccinations each year, compared to 93 per cent of Australian children, and 73 per cent of Australian adolescents.

"Australia has high childhood immunisation rates by international standards, but we continue to have vast numbers of under-vaccinated adults," he said. READ MORE from Northern Star news