Practical Practitioner
By: Pamela Egan, FNP-C CDE
CDC Promoting Immunizations
CDC is promoting immunizations for adults. More U.S. adults die from vaccine-preventable disease than do children.
Influenza is recommended each year for healthcare workers, adults age 50 and up, and patients in high risk groups. Getting a flu shot can drastically help reduce the risk of getting the flu. The flu shot also helps minimize flu symptoms if you do come down with the flu.
Pneumoccal is usually given once starting at age 65. It’s also for younger adults with a chronic condition like cardiovascular, respiratory, diabetes, renal, or if they are immunocompromised with cancer or AIDS. One booster is recommended after five years if patients were vaccinated before age 65.
Tetnus and diphtheria (TD) boosters can be given every 11 years or as a one-time booster at age 50.
Hepatitis A and B are recommended for high-risk adults. These include drug abusers, people with multiple sex partners, men who have sex with men, patients with a recent sexually transmitted disease. Adults traveling to endemic areas should receive hepatitis A and B. Healthcare workers and dialysis patients should received hepatitis B.
Meningococcal should be considered for people living in close quarters, some international travelers, and patient without a functional spleen.
Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) is recommended for adults under 50 who don’t have a vaccine record. Boosters are for healthcare professionals.
Varicella (chicken pox) is for adults who didn’t have the disease or vaccine as kids. Adults should receive two shots four to eight weeks apart. It’s too soon to tell if Varivax will prevent shingles.
Women should use birth control for one month after getting MMR or Varivax to prevent the vaccine from spreading to the fetus because these are live virus vaccines.
So people, be sure to get your immunizations! Doing so will be far less unpleasant than coming down with any of the above illnesses.
This article was originally published April 21, 2003 in The St. Tammany News.
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