According to a new report published in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine, doctors consistently fail to immunize elderly patients against the flu and pneumonia, increasing their risk of developing a fatal illness. Although health officials have for years recommended that hospital patients aged 65 and older receive flu and pneumonia vaccinations, the new study found that most were not immunized during hospital stays.

Researchers examined the medical records of more than 107,000 Medicare patients nationwide who were hospitalized between 1998 and 1999, determining that 95 percent were not immunized against the diseases. Combined, influenza and pneumonia kill at least 40,000 people annually (the fifth leading cause of death for elderly Americans). The pneumococcal vaccine prevents meningitis and blood disorders as well.

Critics of the report say the information is skewed because many elderly patients are either allergic to the flu or pneumonia vaccine or are too sick during their stay at a hospital to receive them.