Unfortunately just because you're an adult doesn't mean you don't need vaccinations.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the specific immunizations you need as an adult are based off of your age, lifestyle, high-risk conditions, type and locations of travel, and previous immunizations. Vaccines work with your immune system by imitating an infection. Vaccines are made from weakened or dead germs that cause the disease, but they will not cause you to get it.
Is it important to keep up on your vaccinations?
Listen in as Dr. Leslie Swartz-Williams discusses adult vaccinations and the importance of keeping up with the current recommendations by the CDC.
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The Importance of Adult Vaccinations
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Learn more about Leslie Swartz-Williams, MD
Leslie Swartz-Williams, MD
Leslie Swartz-Williams, MD is a board-certified internal medicine physician with professional interests in preventive medicine, total care of complex patients and geriatric care.Learn more about Leslie Swartz-Williams, MD
Transcription:
The Importance of Adult Vaccinations
Melanie Cole (Host): You never outgrow the need for vaccines. The specific immunizations you need as an adult are determined by factors such as your age, lifestyle, high-risk conditions, type and locations of travel, and previous immunizations. My guest today is Dr. Leslie Swartz-Williams. She’s a board certified Internal Medicine Physician at Allina Health. Welcome to the show, Dr. Swartz-Williams. What specific vaccines do adults need to think about as they’re getting older? And you can even start with what we consider legal adults in the 21-year-old area and then work your way up.
Dr. Leslie Swartz-Williams (Guest): Okay, well at the youngest age, we will be looking at all the childhood vaccinations to make sure that the person has had the childhood vaccinations that we expect – Measles, Mumps, Rubella, or the MMR, and what’s called a Tetanus, or a TDAP, which is Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis. Most people have had the vaccinations that they need by the time they reach my office at age 18, but if they haven’t, we can get them caught up on those basic vaccinations. The other thing that we recommend for 18 and above, and younger and older both is the flu vaccination every year. We used to recommend only for the very young and the very old and then it became apparent that that didn’t provide enough protection and there were viruses out there that would be actually more dangerous to the healthier person, and we determined that getting everybody vaccinated was the safest route for the influenza vaccination.
As one gets older, there is usually spell where we don’t have to worry about vaccinations other than the annual flu until people hit about the age of 50. Then we start looking at Herpes Zoster vaccination, or what’s known as the Shingles vaccination. We can start thinking about that at age 50, although we tend to hold off on recommending it until age 60.
Melanie: So Doctor, when we’re sending our kids off to college, we’ve heard that we’re supposed to maybe think about the Meningitis vaccine. Is that true?
Dr. Swartz-Williams: Yes, for people who are going to be in dormitory situations, which includes military situations or college with dorms, we do recommend the Meningitis vaccination. There are two that can be considered. Which one is the most beneficial can be discussed with the individual’s physician, but those are ones that are very, very beneficial because meningitis is so, very serious.
Melanie: So for adults, and specifically older adults, and you mentioned the Shingles vaccine, and you mentioned the Flu vaccine, what about the pneumonia shot? Are we supposed to get that, too?
Dr. Swartz-Williams: Yes, there are two pneumonia vaccinations now – for years there was only one, but now we have two. If the person has chronic lung disease, we’ll be recommending that they get pneumonia vaccinations sooner than age 65, but everybody should have a series of two pneumonia vaccinations after the age of 65. We start with one at the physical at age 65, and then the following year we give the second vaccination.
Melanie: And when you mentioned the TDAP vaccination, then tetanus – how often should people get a booster of this?
Dr. Swartz-Williams: We’re looking to booster that once very ten years. TDAP, which is a booster that contains the pertussis vaccination that is a one-time booster vaccination. It contains both Tetanus and Pertussis. After the TDAP has been received, then we go back to doing just straight Tetanus, and we recommend that every ten years.
Melanie: So then wrap it up for us with your best advice and information about, again, what we should ask our providers about vaccinations as adults.
Dr. Swartz-Williams: People will come to me, and they’ll say, “Well, what do I need?” And then I’ll determine that if they’re very, very healthy, we need to have a Flu vaccination every year. If they’re a healthy person over the age of 60, we start talking about the Shingles vaccination, and over 65, we start talking about the pneumonia vaccination. People who have chronic illnesses, we’ll start some of those vaccinations a little earlier.
Melanie: And the importance of getting those vaccinations, Doctor?
Dr. Swartz-Williams: They are really, very critical. We have thousands, and thousands of people who die every year because they didn’t get a vaccination, and that’s very, very preventable. The vaccinations have very few side-effects, and people tolerate them extremely well, so it’s a very simple way to prevent very, very serious illnesses.
Melanie: Thank you, so much, for being with us today. It’s such important information for listeners to hear. You’re listening to the Well Cast with Allina Health, and for more information, you can go to AllinaHealth.org, that’s AllinaHealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks, so much, for listening.
The Importance of Adult Vaccinations
Melanie Cole (Host): You never outgrow the need for vaccines. The specific immunizations you need as an adult are determined by factors such as your age, lifestyle, high-risk conditions, type and locations of travel, and previous immunizations. My guest today is Dr. Leslie Swartz-Williams. She’s a board certified Internal Medicine Physician at Allina Health. Welcome to the show, Dr. Swartz-Williams. What specific vaccines do adults need to think about as they’re getting older? And you can even start with what we consider legal adults in the 21-year-old area and then work your way up.
Dr. Leslie Swartz-Williams (Guest): Okay, well at the youngest age, we will be looking at all the childhood vaccinations to make sure that the person has had the childhood vaccinations that we expect – Measles, Mumps, Rubella, or the MMR, and what’s called a Tetanus, or a TDAP, which is Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis. Most people have had the vaccinations that they need by the time they reach my office at age 18, but if they haven’t, we can get them caught up on those basic vaccinations. The other thing that we recommend for 18 and above, and younger and older both is the flu vaccination every year. We used to recommend only for the very young and the very old and then it became apparent that that didn’t provide enough protection and there were viruses out there that would be actually more dangerous to the healthier person, and we determined that getting everybody vaccinated was the safest route for the influenza vaccination.
As one gets older, there is usually spell where we don’t have to worry about vaccinations other than the annual flu until people hit about the age of 50. Then we start looking at Herpes Zoster vaccination, or what’s known as the Shingles vaccination. We can start thinking about that at age 50, although we tend to hold off on recommending it until age 60.
Melanie: So Doctor, when we’re sending our kids off to college, we’ve heard that we’re supposed to maybe think about the Meningitis vaccine. Is that true?
Dr. Swartz-Williams: Yes, for people who are going to be in dormitory situations, which includes military situations or college with dorms, we do recommend the Meningitis vaccination. There are two that can be considered. Which one is the most beneficial can be discussed with the individual’s physician, but those are ones that are very, very beneficial because meningitis is so, very serious.
Melanie: So for adults, and specifically older adults, and you mentioned the Shingles vaccine, and you mentioned the Flu vaccine, what about the pneumonia shot? Are we supposed to get that, too?
Dr. Swartz-Williams: Yes, there are two pneumonia vaccinations now – for years there was only one, but now we have two. If the person has chronic lung disease, we’ll be recommending that they get pneumonia vaccinations sooner than age 65, but everybody should have a series of two pneumonia vaccinations after the age of 65. We start with one at the physical at age 65, and then the following year we give the second vaccination.
Melanie: And when you mentioned the TDAP vaccination, then tetanus – how often should people get a booster of this?
Dr. Swartz-Williams: We’re looking to booster that once very ten years. TDAP, which is a booster that contains the pertussis vaccination that is a one-time booster vaccination. It contains both Tetanus and Pertussis. After the TDAP has been received, then we go back to doing just straight Tetanus, and we recommend that every ten years.
Melanie: So then wrap it up for us with your best advice and information about, again, what we should ask our providers about vaccinations as adults.
Dr. Swartz-Williams: People will come to me, and they’ll say, “Well, what do I need?” And then I’ll determine that if they’re very, very healthy, we need to have a Flu vaccination every year. If they’re a healthy person over the age of 60, we start talking about the Shingles vaccination, and over 65, we start talking about the pneumonia vaccination. People who have chronic illnesses, we’ll start some of those vaccinations a little earlier.
Melanie: And the importance of getting those vaccinations, Doctor?
Dr. Swartz-Williams: They are really, very critical. We have thousands, and thousands of people who die every year because they didn’t get a vaccination, and that’s very, very preventable. The vaccinations have very few side-effects, and people tolerate them extremely well, so it’s a very simple way to prevent very, very serious illnesses.
Melanie: Thank you, so much, for being with us today. It’s such important information for listeners to hear. You’re listening to the Well Cast with Allina Health, and for more information, you can go to AllinaHealth.org, that’s AllinaHealth.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks, so much, for listening.