Grown-Ups Need Their Shots, Too

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Children are not the only ones who need to keep up to date on their immunizations.

Adult shots "definitely benefit the quality of your life" and may even save it, says Vishnu-Priya Sneller of the National Immunization Program.

Immunities given by vaccines can fade with time, and other health conditions may increase susceptibility to these diseases. More than 30,000 adults die each year from diseases that vaccination could have prevented, usually from complications of flu and pneumonia.

Which shots should you get and how often? Here are recommendations for people age 50 and over, taken from the first adult immunization schedule issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• flu shots: one each year;
• pneumococcal vaccine (for everyone 65-plus or with chronic conditions such as heart, pulmonary or liver disease, diabetes or HIV): one-time dose if last vaccinated more than 5 years ago or never;
• tetanus/diphtheria: one booster dose every 10 years.

In certain circumstances doctors may also recommend older adults have vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), varicella (chicken pox), meningitis and hepatitis A and B.

For more information and locations in your area, call the National Immunization Hotline at (800) 232-2522 for English-speakers; (800) 232-0233 for Spanish-speakers; and (800) 243-7889 for TTY users.