Several preventable diseases cause serious illness and even death of unvaccinated seniors. An estimated 45,000 adults die per year from complications caused by vaccine-preventable diseases.
Many adults feel like they do not need to worry about the side effects of the vaccine itself. But people aged 65 and over are at higher risk of complications from actual diseases.
Seniors are more vulnerable to dangerous and potentially life-threatening infections. So, older people need to keep vaccines up to date.
Vaccination was linked to a 27% reduction in the risk of pneumonia or influenza hospitalization, as well as a 48% reduction in the risk of mortality.
Below Are Five Vaccines That Every Adult Needs:
1. Influenza Vaccine
Who needs it. All adults, whatever their age.
How Often. Once a year. The virus itself is changing every year. Researchers try to anticipate the most common strain that seasons and then reformulate the vaccine accordingly. The flu season normally lasts from October to March. The CDC advises that you roll up your sleeve before the end of October. It is because it takes about two weeks after vaccination to produce antibodies in your body.
Why You Need Vaccines. Flu may lead to hospitalization and even death. And the elderly are the most vulnerable from it. Research shows that vaccines can reduce the risk of disease by as much as 40 to 60 percent.
If you have had an adverse reaction to the flu shot in the past, speak to the doctor. In any case, you will probably be advised to wait until your temp is back to normal before you get the vaccine.
Parting Shot. And if you’re vaccinated, there’s a chance you might get the flu. How well the inoculation is protected depends on various aspects. These include age and health conditions, and so on. That said, vaccination against the flu may reduce the severity of illness if you get sick. Research in 2017 showed that flu vaccine reduced ICU admissions and the length of hospital stays among flu patients.
2. Pneumococcal Vaccine (Pneumonia)
Who Needs It. Healthy adults 65 years of age and older or adults 19-64 with risk factors. The risk factors are smoking, or health problems, such as chronic lung or heart disease, leukemia, etc.
How often. The CDC suggests two pneumococcal vaccines for healthy adults 65 years of age and older. You should get a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) dose and a dose of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) one year later. Those with any of the above risk factors should receive one dose each of PCV13 and PPSV23 before age 65, separated by eight weeks.
Why Do You Need Vaccines. Pneumococcal disease can cause pneumonia. It kills more people in the U.S. per year than all other vaccine-preventable diseases combined. A reported 28,000 cases and 2,900 deaths due to invasive pneumococcal disease occurred in 2014. Young and older children have the greatest incidence of serious disease. And older adults are most likely to die. Experts report that PCV13 prevented more than 30,000 incidents of infectious pneumococcal disease. And, it prevented 3,000 deaths in the first three years of usage.
Parting Shot. If you work with chronically sick people—say, in a hospital or a nursing home—you can have the vaccine, even if you’re healthy.
3. Tdap Vaccine (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) and Td booster (tetanus, diphtheria)
Who Needs It. The Tdap vaccine came out in 2005 and, along with protection against tetanus and diphtheria. Unlike the replaced vaccine, it also provides new, additional protection against whooping cough pertussis. If you can’t remember having this shot, you probably need it. And so, you should count on one of the Td boosters that you’re expected to get every 10 years.
How Often. You get Tdap once, and after that, you will need the Td booster every 10 years. Otherwise, the protection from tetanus and diphtheria will fade away.
Why Do You Need Vaccines. Because of the increase in whooping cough cases in the U.S., you really do need to be vaccinated against it, especially if you’re over 65. In the first year after vaccination, Tdap prevents infection in about 7 out of 10 patients. Talk to your doctor if you have epilepsy or other nervous system complications, severe swelling, or pain after previous injection of either vaccination or Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Parting Shot. This vaccine is particularly important for those who have close contact with children younger than 12 months of age. They include parents, grandparents, and child care providers.
4. Hepatitis A Vaccine
Who Needs It. People 50 or older who are at high risk for hepatitis A (HAV), a liver disease. Infections are primarily caused by travel to another country where transmission of the hepatitis A virus is common, by close contact with the hepatitis A-infected person or recreational drug use.
How Often. Once but given in two doses for six months.
Why Do You Need Vaccines. Hepatitis A rates in the U.S. have decreased by more than 95% since the first release of the hepatitis A vaccine in 1995. An estimated 4,000 cases of hepatitis A were reported in the U.S. in 2016.
Parting Shot. It’s a sneaky disease. You do not have any telltale signs—and the risk of symptoms decreases as you age.
5. Hepatitis B Vaccine
Who Needs It. Adults 50 years of age and older who are at risk for hepatitis B infection of the liver. Hepatitis B is spread when a body fluid (blood, semen, saliva) from a person infected with the hepatitis B virus reaches the body of a person who is not infected. This can happen by sexual intercourse, or things like contact with blood or open sores, or exchanging something from a needle to a razor to a toothbrush with an infected person. Some risk factors for infection include kidney dialysis, travel to countries where hepatitis B is widespread, or HIV.
How Often. Adults receiving the vaccine need three doses. Four weeks after the first dose, the second dose is given. Five months after the second dose, the third is given. There is also a combined vaccine for both hepatitis A and B called Twinrix. This is given in three doses over six months.
Why You Need Vaccines. The CDC reports that the estimated number of new HBV infections was 20,900 in 2016.
Talk to the doctor if you have a life-threatening allergy to yeast or any other part of the vaccine.
The Bottom Line
Having these vaccines is a key aspect of a healthy aging phase. And it also helps protect your family and friends. Call the doctor to see if these vaccines are good for your body. And then check with your Medicare provider to see where you can receive them. If you meet someone who might not be vaccinated, share this detail with them so that they can take the next step in protecting themselves.
