Every year, thousands of adults suffer from vaccine-preventable diseases and get hospitalized. Getting vaccinated thus can help you protect yourself from any unwanted diseases. Recently, awareness in adults has resulted in the growth of adult vaccination rates worldwide.
It is crucial for adults to get seasonal flu (influenza) vaccine. For people with chronic health conditions, pregnant women, and the older adults flu vaccine is paramount.
To protect against pertussis (whooping cough) every adult should get the Tdap vaccine once if they did not receive it as an adolescent. And then every 10 years a Td (tetanus, diphtheria) booster shot. In addition, each time they are pregnant women should get the Tdap vaccine, preferably at 27 through 36 weeks.
Which adult immunizations do you need?
The specific immunizations one needs as an adult are decided by factors such as your lifestyle, age, travel, health conditions, and previous immunizations. Immunization recommendations are as follows.
Throughout your adult life, you need immunizations to protect you against:
Other vaccinations you may need include those that protect against HPV (human papillomavirus, which can cause certain cancers), meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, measles, chickenpox (varicella), mumps, and rubella.
When should I get the vaccines?
You can get the vaccines when you are getting your regular physical exam. However, if you have a mild illness or condition, you need to talk to your doctor about receiving the vaccines by scheduling a special visit at a follow-up appointment.
The only vaccine that needs to be given at a particular time of the year is the influenza vaccine. You should plan to get the vaccine before influenza begins circulating in your community even though this vaccine can be given anytime between October and April because protection takes about two weeks to develop after immunization.
Get vaccines at your doctor’s office so that it will be part of your medical record.