Adults Need Immunizations, Too

Your need for immunizations doesn't end when you reach adulthood. Get and maintain protection against vaccine-preventable diseases for your health and for your family's health. Be the example!

Immunizations are NOT just for kids! Whether a young adult, middle-aged adult, or senior citizen, we ALL need immunizations to keep us healthy. Transitioning to adulthood brings us into a new world, bringing a different level of responsibility that we carry for life, including the need to help protect our loved ones more than ever.

Do You Need Any 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. Throughout your adult life, you need immunizations to get and maintain protection against:

• Seasonal influenza (flu) (In general, anyone who is 6 months or older can benefit from the protection of a flu vaccination.)
• Tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough) (one booster dose for adults up through 64 years and for adults 65 years and older who will have close contact with infants and have not previously received the Tdap vaccine)
• Shingles (for adults 60 years and older)
• Pneumococcal disease (for adults 65 years and older and adults with specific health conditions)
• Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection (for women 26 years and younger)

Other vaccinations you may need include those that protect against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, chickenpox (varicella), and measles, mumps and rubella.

Review the Adult Immunization Schedule to see if you need any immunizations.

Or download the Adult Immunization Scheduler tool and create a customized printout of vaccines you need. You can request "email updates"and receive an alert when the adult recommended vaccination schedule changes (and the updates are incorporated into the tool).

Are You an Advocate for Your Family?

Your need for immunizations does not end when you reach adulthood. In fact, the need for immunization remains just as strong as when we were vulnerable children. As adults, we must continue to maintain our own health because we are also affecting the health of our families by teaching them how to care for themselves.

Encourage other adults in your family to check with their doctors for immunizations they may need to help protect against vaccine-preventable diseases. Childhood vaccinations will not protect you for the rest of your life.

Be the Example!

Remind your family, friends, co-workers, and those in the community to get vaccinated each year against seasonal influenza. If they are up-to-date on all of their vaccinations, they protect themselves and those around them, especially babies too young to be vaccinated.

More Information

• Adolescent and Adult Quiz: What Vaccines Do YOU Need?
• Vaccine Information for Adults
• Adult Immunization Schedule
• Adult Vaccination Screening Form
• Learn about vaccine-preventable adult diseases
• Before you travel…
• AdultVaccination.org