Vaccines aren't just for kids. Far too many adults become ill, are disabled, and die each year from diseases that could easily have been prevented by vaccines. Thus everyone from young adults to senior citizens can benefit from immunizations.

   
Contents:

• Adult vaccination schedule
• Descriptions of vaccine-preventable diseases
• Especially serious diseases for adults over 65

• Diphtheria
• Haemophilus influenzae
  type b (Hib)
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Influenza (flu)
• Lyme Disease
• Measles*

• Mumps*
• Pneumococcus
• Polio
• Rubella* (Geman measles)
• Tetanus (lock jaw)
• Varicella** (chickenpox)

As an adult, do I need it?

Everyone needs protection from diphtheria. If you have not had a booster shot in 10 years or more -- or never had the initial 3-shot series -- you should be vaccinated.

(Can be serious in children under age 1, but there is little risk of getting the disease after age 5)

As an adult, do I need it?

Most people over 5 years old do not need Hib vaccine. You should get it, however, if you have sickle cell anemia, or if your immune system is weakened because of

• HIV/AIDS or other diseases that affect the immune system
• treatment with drugs such as long-term steroids
• cancer treatment with x-rays or drugs
• bone marrow or organ transplant
• damaged spleen or no spleen.

If present: yellow skin or eyes, tiredness, stomach ache, loss of appetite, or nausea

Less often: spread by swallowing food or water that contains the virus

As an adult, do I need it?

You should get the hepatitis A vaccine if:

• You have long-term liver disease.
• You travel to countries with high rates of hepatitis A.
• You are a man and have sex with other men.
• You use street drugs.
• You live in a community with a high rate of hepatitis A.
• You receive blood products to help your blood clot.

If present: yellow skin or eyes, tiredness, stomach ache, loss of appetite, nausea, or joint pain

As an adult, do I need it?

You should get the hepatitis B vaccine if:

• You have had sex with more than one person in the last 6 months.
• You have had a sexually transmitted disease.
• You are a man who has sex with other men.
• You are a household contact or sex partner of a person with long-term hepatitis B.
• You have a job that involves contact with human blood.
• You are on the staff of, or a client in, an institution for the developmentally disabled.
• You are the recipient of certain blood products.
• You are a dialysis patient.
• You live or travel for more that 6 months a year in countries where hepatitis B is common.
• You are a prisoner in a long-term correctional facility.
• You use street drugs.

As an adult, do I need it?

The influenza vaccine helps prevent this disease in all adults -- however, it is especially recommended if:

• You are over 65 years old.
• You are living in a long-term care facility for the chronically ill, no matter what your age.
• You have a serious long-term health problem with heart disease, lung disease (including asthma), metabolic diseases (such as diabetes), anemia or other blood disorders, or kidney diseases.
• Your immune system is weakened because of HIV/AIDS or other diseases that affect the immune system, treatment with drugs such as long-term steroids, cancer treatment with x-rays or drugs, or bone marrow or organ transplants.
• You are a doctor, nurse, visiting home nurse, volunteer worker, family member, or someone else who comes in close contact with a person at risk of serious flu.
• You will be more than 3 months pregnant during the flu season.
• You provide essential community services (e.g., police, fire fighters).
• You travel to the southern hemisphere between April and September, or to the tropics at any time.
• You are a student or staff member of a school or college.

As an adult, do I need it?

You should get the Lyme disease vaccine if:

• You are 15 to 70 years of age.
• You live, work, or play in areas surrounded by woods or overgrown brush infested by certain ticks. (The disease is most common in the northeastern, mid-Atlantic, and upper north-central regions of the U.S., and in some parts of northwestern California.)
• You are in the above described tick regions often or for long periods.

As an adult, do I need it?

You do not need the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine (MMR) if:

• You had blood tests that show you are immune to measles, mumps, and rubella.
• You are a man born before 1957.
• You are a woman born before 1957 who is sure she is not having more children, has already had rubella vaccine, or has had a positive rubella test.
• You already had two doses of MMR or one dose of MMR plus a second dose of measles vaccine.
• You already had one dose of MMR and are not at high risk of measles exposure.

You should get the MMR vaccine if you are not among the categories listed above, and

• You are a college student, trade school student, or other student beyond high school.
• You work in a hospital or other medical facility.
• You travel internationally, or are a passenger on a cruise ship.
• You are a woman of childbearing age.

As an adult, do I need it?

You do not need the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine (MMR) if:

• You had blood tests that show you are immune to measles, mumps, and rubella.
• You are a man born before 1957.
• You are a woman born before 1957 who is sure she is not having more children, has already had rubella vaccine, or has had a positive rubella test.
• You already had two doses of MMR or one dose of MMR plus a second dose of measles vaccine.
• You already had one dose of MMR and are not at high risk of measles exposure.

You should get the MMR vaccine if you are not among the categories listed above, and

• You are a college student, trade school student, or other student beyond high school.
• You work in a hospital or other medical facility.
• You travel internationally, or are a passenger on a cruise ship.
• You are a woman of childbearing age.

As an adult, do I need it?

You should get the pneumococcal vaccine if:

• You are 65 years old or older.
• You have a serious long-term health problem such as heart disease, sickle cell disease, alcoholism, leaks of cerebrospinal fluid, lung disease (not including asthma), diabetes, or liver cirrhosis.
• Your resistance to infection is lowered due to Hodgkin's disease; multiple myeloma; cancer treatment with x-rays or drugs; treatment with long-term steroids; bone marrow or organ transplant; kidney failure; HIV/AIDS; lymphoma, leukemia, or other cancers; nephrotic syndrome; damaged spleen or no spleen.
• You are an Alaskan Native or from certain Native American populations.

As an adult, do I need it?

The risk of contracting "wild" polio is very small in the U.S. You should get the polio vaccine if:

• You are traveling to polio infected areas of the world.
• You are working in polio laboratories.
• You are changing the diapers of a child who is receiving the oral polio vaccine (OPV).

As an adult, do I need it?

You do not need the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine (MMR) if:

• You had blood tests that show you are immune to measles, mumps, and rubella.
• You are a man born before 1957.
• You are a woman born before 1957 who is sure she is not having more children, has already had rubella vaccine, or has had a positive rubella test.
• You already had two doses of MMR or one dose of MMR plus a second dose of measles vaccine.
• You already had one dose of MMR and are not at high risk of measles exposure.

You should get the MMR  vaccine if you are not among the categories listed above, and

• You are a college student, trade school student, or other student beyond high school.
• You work in a hospital or other medical facility.
• You travel internationally, or are a passenger on a cruise ship.
• You are a woman of childbearing age.

Later symptoms: fever, elevated blood pressure, and severe muscle spasms

As an adult, do I need it?

Everyone needs protection from tetanus. If you have not had a booster shot in 10 years or more -- or never had the initial 3-shot series -- you should be vaccinated.

As an adult, do I need it?

You should get the varicella vaccine if you do not have a reliable history of having had chickenpox, and if:

• You are a health care worker, teach young children, a day care worker, a resident or staff member in an institutional setting, a college student, an inmate or staff member of a correctional institution, in the military, or if you travel internationally.
• You are a woman of childbearing age who is sure you are not pregnant. (Pregnant women should not receive the varicella vaccine.)

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