CDC issues vaccine schedule for adults. (Use in Pregnancy Addressed).

WASHINGTON -- For the first time, a comprehensive adult immunization schedule is available to remind physicians which individuals aged 19 and older require vaccinations.

But while the color-coded schedule, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is likely to raise awareness of adult immunization requirements--including those for pregnant women--it's going to be an uphill back to change practice, given the less than adequate reimbursement coverage for many of the vaccinations, experts say.

Moreover, many ob.gyns. do not view immunizations as their responsibility. There's "still the conception among many ob.gyns. that pregnant women are not susceptible to the flu," Dr. David Baker, professor of ob.gyn. and reproductive health at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, said in an interview.

The immunization schedule should help make providers more aware that pregnant women constitute a high-risk group and that influenza vaccinations are not only advised in the second and third trimesters but are also highly effective and safe, posing no risk to the fetus, he said.

The schedule represents a harmonization of existing recommendations from various medical specialty societies, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

But, importantly, this is the first time they're all in one place, Dr. William Schaffner said at a press conference sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases during which the harmonized schedule was released.

The only vaccination universally recommended for every adult, regardless of health status, is the tetanus-diphtheria booster every 10 years, following three primary dose injections.