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Vaccine shot

Vaccines For People Aged 50 And Older

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 that everyone 50 and older, even if they had the former vaccine, Zostavax, and even if they already had shingles, 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 12 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 from recreational drug use.
  • Two doses of the vaccine are given six months apart.

HEPATITIS B

  • Adults 50 and older who are at risk of contract ing Hepatitis B, a liver infection, should get the vaccine.
  • Hepatitis B is transmitted through body fluid – blood, semen, saliva – from an infected person.
  • Adults must get three doses at intervals.

Filed Under: Primary Care, General Health

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