Many assume that vaccinations are only essential during childhood, but this isn’t true. Getting vaccinated is also important for grownups. Why?

It’s because as people age, their immune system typically weakens, leaving them more vulnerable to diseases and infections common in adulthood. Vaccinations for adults can help strengthen your immune response, protecting you from dangerous illnesses. 

In this article, you can learn the significance of vaccinations for elders and what vaccines they should receive to stay healthy.

What’s Meant by Vaccination?

Vaccination can be explained as a process of administering a vaccine into an individual’s body to keep them safe and protect against harmful diseases. It works by stimulating the body’s immune system to develop resistance against specific diseases and infections. Also, common vaccines for adults train their immune system to create antibodies, just like it does when it’s exposed to any infection or disease.

Why Do Adults Need Vaccinations?

Vaccines for elderly are as important as children, if not more so. With increasing age, your immune system can become naturally weak, and thus, you will find your body struggling to fight off infections and diseases. This decline in your immunity can raise your risk of contracting preventable infections and ailments, which can lead to serious complications, hospitalizations, or even death. 

By receiving vaccine shots for adults, you can boost and maintain your body’s defence against such illnesses, ensuring your immunity remains strong throughout life. Moreover, other than protecting yourself by getting vaccinated, vaccinations can help shield the community by preventing the spread of contagious diseases. 

7 Key Vaccines for Adults

You can consider the following vaccine list for adults to preserve your health:

1. Influenza (Flu) Vaccine

What it protects against: The flu shot can protect you against the influenza virus. 

Why it’s important: You should know that the flu, if left untreated, can lead to complications like pneumonia, which can be life-threatening in high-risk groups. But, receiving an annual flu shot can help reduce the risk of catching the flu by 40-60%. However, even if you do contract flu, the symptoms you experience will be generally milder and less likely to result in hospitalization. 

How often and when you should get it: All adults should get the Influenza vaccine annual, pre monsoon or nasal spray form once a year unless they have a medical reason not to. 

2. Shingles (Herpes Zoster) Vaccine

What it protects against: The shingles vaccine can protect you against shingles, a painful rash caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus.

Why it’s important: It’s found that adults aged over 50 are more likely to develop shingles. By getting the available Shingles vaccination, you can reduce your chance of developing shingles and associated complications, like postherpetic neuralgia, a severe nerve pain that can last for months, even after your rash disappears.

How often and when you should get it: All elders aged 50 or more should receive the Shingles vaccine. Also, adults more than 19 years old who are immunocompromised because of any illness or therapy can also get Shingrex. The vaccine’s protection can last for 4 to 5 years and is generally administered in two shots, each 2 to 6 months apart. 

3. Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis) Vaccine

What it protects against: A single shot of Tdap can protect you against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis.

• Tetanus is a potentially fatal bacterial infection that anyone can get from cuts or puncture wounds. 
• Pertussis or whooping cough is a bacterial infection of the lungs and can cause serious respiratory issues, especially in infants and grownups. 
• Diphtheria is a contagious bacterial disease that can infect your throat and skin, making it difficult to breathe and can cause heart failure, paralysis, or even death. 

How often and when you should get it: An adult aged more than 18 and a pregnant woman (between 27th and 36th weeks of pregnancy) should receive the Tdap vaccine. It’s a one-time vaccine, but you will need a Tdap booster every 10 years. 

4. Pneumococcal Vaccine

What it protects against: Getting a pneumococcal vaccine can protect you against pneumonia, meningitis, and bloodstream infections caused by the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria.

Who should get it: You can get the pneumococcal vaccine if aged 65 or older. However, people younger than 64 years can also get the shot if they have long-term conditions like heart disease, cirrhosis, alcoholism, diabetes, sickle cell disease, or cochlear implant or disease that lowers the body’s defences against infections.

How often and when you should get it: Pneumococcal once in 5 years.

5. Covid-19 Vaccine

What it protects against: The COVID-19 vaccines have now become one of the most important vaccinations for adults. These are developed to provide people immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, a highly infectious respiratory illness.

Why it’s important: During the pandemic, you might have heard of people, especially older ones with low immunity, suffering from severe illness, long-term complications, and some even dying due to COVID-19. Booster shots are required to maintain your immunity as you grow older, especially as new variants of the COVID virus emerge.

How often and when you should get it: Anyone more than the age of 6 months should get the Covid-19 vaccine. Usually, all Covid-19 vaccines, such as Pfizer, Moderna, etc., are administered in two shots, 3 to 8 weeks apart. But kids between the age of 6 months and 4 years need a third dose, if getting the Pfizer vaccine.

6. MMR & Varicella Vaccine

What it protects against: After getting the MMR vaccine, you will be less likely to have measles, mumps, and rubella. And the varicella vaccine can reduce your chance of developing chickenpox.

Why it’s important: Many grownups believe that they are immune to measles, rubella, mumps, or chickenpox after developing them once in their childhood. However, it’s far from reality. These infections can still cause outbreaks in unvaccinated adults and can even lead to serious complications such as encephalitis, infertility, and pneumonia.

How often and when you should get it: Healthy adults who haven’t had measles, rubella, mumps, or chickenpox before, aren’t pregnant, or don’t have immunity against the viruses should get the shot for MMR & varicella vaccine. Usually, one shot is given for each, followed by a booster 4-8 weeks later, and you can get them any time. 

7. Hepatitis B Vaccine

What it protects against: The hepatitis B vaccine is one of the common vaccines for adults to safeguard your body against hepatitis B. 

Why it’s important: Adults who are sexually active, have diabetes, HIV, STDs, or kidney disease, inject illegal drugs, work in healthcare, or travel to regions where hepatitis B is common should receive the vaccine. Hepatitis B is a viral infection that affects an individual’s liver and can increase the risk of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, or liver cancer.

How often and when you should get it: Adults aged between 19 and 64 years should get a Hepatitis B vaccine shot. They might get two or three shots depending on the vaccine type.

Final Say

Wondering whether or not to get these discussed vaccines for elderly? Talk to a Medanta doctor about your vaccination requirement. They can also help you keep track of all your vaccinations, ensuring you stay fit and healthy.