Asplenia and Adult Vaccination

Vaccines are especially critical for people with chronic health conditions such as asplenia.

If you do not have a spleen or your spleen does not work well, talk with your doctor about:

• Influenza vaccine each year to protect against seasonal flu
• Tdap vaccine to protect against tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough
• Hib vaccine to protect against Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) if you were not previously vaccinated with the vaccine
• Pneumococcal vaccine(s) to protect against pneumonia and other serious pneumococcal diseases
• Meningococcal vaccines (both types) to protect against meningitis and other meningococcal disease
• Zoster vaccine to protect against shingles if you are 50 years and older
• HPV vaccine to protect against cancers and genital warts caused by human papillomavirus if you are an adult through age 26 years (HPV vaccine is not recommended for everyone older than age 26 years, but some adults age 27 through 45 years who are not already vaccinated may decide to get HPV vaccine after speaking with their doctor about their risk for new HPV infections and the possible benefits of vaccination. HPV vaccination in this age range provides less benefit, as more people have already been exposed to HPV.)
• MMR vaccine to protect against measles, mumps, and rubella if you were born in 1957 or after and have not gotten this vaccine or do not have immunity to these diseases
• Varicella vaccine to protect against chickenpox if you were born in 1980 or after and have not gotten two doses of this vaccine or do not have immunity to this disease

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