LogFAQs > #910194602

Don't stop with just a flu shot.

Most adults will have been vaccinated as children against Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis (Whooping Cough), but you need at least one Tdap shot as an adult, and a Td booster at least every 10 years. If you don't know if you have had the Tdap shot yet, it won't hurt to get it again.

There are vaccines for Hepatitis A and B. Hep A is most commonly spread from contaminated food or drink. Hep B is spread by contact with body fluids. Both can cause serious liver problems.

If you are under age 46, you should get the HPV (Human Papillomavirus) vaccine. This will protect against various kinds of cancer. HPV is spread by skin-to-skin contact.

If you are over 65, have a weakened immune system, or have heart, lung, liver, kidney or spleen disease, diabetes, or you smoke, you should get the PPSV23 Pneumococcal vaccine. If you are over age 65, or you have a weakened immune system, or kidney or spleen disease, you should get the PCV13 Pneumococcal vaccine as well. Pneumococcal disease is a bacterial infection that can lead to pneumonia, meningitis, and septicemia (blood poisoning).

If you are going to be living in a group housing situation (military barracks, college dorm, etc), you should get the Meningococcal vaccine. This vaccine is also recommended for persons who have had their spleen removed. Meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection that can cause meningitis and septicemia.

If you did not get the MMR vaccine (Measles, Mumps & Rubella) as a child, or if you were born in 1957 or earlier, then you should get the MMR vaccine as an adult.

If you did not get the Varicella (Chickenpox) vaccine, and you did not contract chickenpox as a kid, then you need the Varicella vaccine.

If you are over age 50 and previously had chickenpox, you need 2 doses of the Shingles vaccine. Shingles is caused by the chickenpox virus which can remain dormant inside your body and reawaken decades later, causing a painful rash or blisters.

If your spleen has been removed, you have sickle cell disease, or received a bone marrow transplant, you should also get the Hib vaccine. Haemophilus influenzae type B can cause brain damage or hearing loss. It's uncommon in healthy adults.