Pfizer and KIMS-Sunshine Hospital, Begumpet Join Hands to Unveil Centre of Excellence for Adult Vaccination

The Centre of Excellence (CoE) aims to strengthen community protection against vaccine-preventable diseases by promoting the community-wide adoption of adult vaccination

Pfizer India and KIMS-Sunshine Hospitals have joined hands to unveil a new, dedicated Centre of Excellence (CoE) for adult vaccination in Hyderabad’s KIMS-Sunshine Hospital, Begumpet. The CoE has been established with the vision of ensuring that community members can easily access healthcare solutions, including by promoting preventive health measures like adult vaccination. With a wide range of offerings, the centre can encourage people to seek protection against various vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs), including Pneumococcal disease, Influenza, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), and Hepatitis A and B, among others.

In India, approximately 95% of VPD-related deaths occur in adults. Adult vaccination forms a science-backed, effective solution to boost people’s layered defense against infections, avoid further health complications, and improve their quality of life. This is particularly vital for at-risk groups, such as those with Chronic Lung disease (COPD & Asthma), Diabetes, Chronic Heart Disease, Chronic Kidney Disease, or other immunocompromised conditions. However, awareness and adult immunization coverage in India remain worryingly low. The KIMS-Sunshine Hospital CoE can play a crucial role in empowering healthcare professionals with advanced and credible information on adult immunization’s long-term benefits, which can support them as they encourage widespread adult vaccination coverage across the community. It also offers training initiatives and access to guidelines on adult vaccination protocol.

Sudhaker Jadhav, COO, KIMS-Sunshine Hospital, Begumpet, commented, “At KIMS-Sunshine Hospital, we are committed to delivering quality care with compassion and ensuring the best clinical outcomes for the people and patients availing our services. One important step to better health is by taking preventive measures – and adult immunization marks one key solution to protect people against vaccine-preventable diseases, particularly in the case of those who are older or at a higher risk of related complications. The inauguration of our Centre of Excellence, in partnership with Pfizer, marks an important step in our journey to advancing healthcare across the community and empowering our practitioners with information and guidelines to promote greater nationwide vaccination coverage.” During the inauguration, esteemed medical professionals were in attendance, including Dr. AV Gurva Reddy, MD, Dr. Ragunath, and Dr. Laxaman Babu, Senior Consultants in Pulmonology.

The CoE also offers information and resources that can guide practitioners in the timely identification of people living with risk factors of VPDs, including those who smoke, face excessive pollution exposure, and are above 50 years of age.

Dr. Santosh Taur, Director Medical Affairs, Pfizer Vaccines, said, “At Pfizer, we strive to help more people live disease-free lives and benefit from better health outcomes. Promoting adult vaccination as a vital preventive and protective strategy is one critical element of work towards this goal – and through the Centre of Excellence we unveiled in collaboration with KIMS-Sunshine Hospital, we were able to take this one step closer to becoming a reality. We remain committed to enhancing access to immunization against prevalent vaccine-preventable diseases while strengthening the nation’s healthcare delivery system.”