Influenza (flu)
• All adults, regardless of age, should receive the vaccine.
• It’s given once a year because the virus changes itself.
• Seniors are most vulnerable.
• The flu can lead to hospitalization and even death.
• Studies show the vaccination can reduce the risk of illness by 40% to 60%.
Pneumococcal vaccine (pneumonia)
• Healthy adults 65 years and older or adults 19 to 64 with certain risk factors should receive the vaccine.
• Two doses of the vaccine are necessary at separate times.
• Pneumococcal disease, which can cause pneumonia, kills more people in the United States each year than all other vaccine-preventable diseases combined
Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis)
• Everyone should get the vaccination and a Tdap booster every 10 years.
• Tdap protects against pertussis, also known as whooping cough, which has been on the rise for several years.
• This vaccine is important for anyone having close contact with infants.
Shingles (herpes zoster)
• CDC recommends everyone 50 and older, even if they had the former vaccine, Zostavax, and even if they already had shingles, to get the vaccine.
• Two doses of the vaccine are given six months apart.
• One in three people will get shingles, and the risk rises with age. After a person recovers from chicken pox, the virus remains dormant for decades, ready to appear when the immune system is weakened by stress, medication or disease.
• About 15% of sufferers are left with severe nerve pain.
• Even if you don’t remember having chicken pox, you should get the vaccine.
COVID-19 (coronavirus)
• Anyone 16 and older should be vaccinated.
• Some vaccines are single dose while others require two doses, given three to four weeks apart.
• It’s unclear how long immunity lasts and whether booster vaccinations will be required.
• More data is needed to determine the effectiveness of the vaccine, but the CDC believes the vaccine is working well.
• COVID-19 is especially risky for older adults and those with underlying conditions.
Hepatitis A (HAV)
• The vaccine is for people 50 and older who are high risk for Hepatitis A, a disease of the liver.
• Infections result primarily from travel to another country where transmission is common through close contact with a Hepatitis A infected individual or recreational drug use.
• Two doses of the vaccine given six months apart.
Hepatitis B
• Adults 50 and older who are at risk of contracting Hepatitis B, a liver infection, should get the vaccine.
• Hepatitis B is transmitted through a body fluid – blood, semen, saliva – from an infected person.
• Adults must get three doses at intervals.
Sources: AARP.org and CDC.gov
