Most of us think that immunizations end with childhood. We get the shots, and then we’re protected for life, right? Not so.
August is National Immunization Awareness Month and the physician members of the Pennsylvania Medical Society remind us that we need to be immunized throughout our lives for a variety of reasons:
- Some adults were never vaccinated as children
- Newer vaccines were not available when some adults were children
- Immunity can fade over time
- As we age, we become more susceptible to serious diseases caused by common infections (such as flu and pneumococcus)
“Once a patient is older and out of school, there’s really no official way to remind them to update their immunizations,” adds Pennsylvania Medical Society member and Erie-area family medicine physician Kevin Shaffer, MD. “So it’s equally up to the doctor and the patient to keep and review a current list of immunizations.”
Dr. Shaffer says that he routinely asks his adult patients about their last tetanus shot. “You can come in contact with tetanus fairly easily—not just by stepping on a rusty nail. Anytime you have a burn, abrasion, puncture, bite, and especially if it happens outdoors, you’re at risk. It’s a nasty infection.”
He also insists that his older patients receive the pneumonia vaccine and an annual flu shot.
Learn what diseases can be prevented with adult vaccinations. For a recommended adult immunization schedule, visit the Immunization Action Coalition.
Dr. Shaffer urges adults to take time to talk with your doctor about which immunizations you may need.
“Your family doctor can make recommendations based on your age, health and risk level and answer any questions you might have. Make it a point to ask at your next appointment—it’s just so important to stay current, for your own sake and for everyone around you.”
By getting yourself and your family immunized, you can:
- Protect others from those same diseases. Some people can’t get certain vaccines for medical reasons, or are not able to respond to certain vaccines. For these folks, the immunity of everyone around them is their only protection.
- Help protect future generations from diseases. If we don’t sty current with immunizations, diseases that had been under control could come back to cause epidemics.
- Help rid the world of diseases that have been crippling and killing people, especially children, for centuries. Immunization allowed us wipe out smallpox. Today polio is nearly gone, and in the future measles and other diseases will follow.
The importance of continuing immunizations can’t be emphasized strongly enough. Staying up-to-date not only helps prevent the spread of otherwise preventable diseases, it also protects you for potentially life-threatening diseases.