August is National Immunization Awareness Month. Find where to receive your vaccines in the United States here.
Immunization (vaccines) are a vital part of maintaining public and personal health. Everyone knows that vaccines are recommended for children on a set schedule (learn more about getting your kids vaccinated here)- but did you know that adults need to keep up to date on their shots, too?
All adults should, unless otherwise directed by their doctor, receive a yearly influenza vaccine, a Tdap (pertussis) vaccine if they did not receive one as adolescents, and a Td (tetanus and diphtheria) booster shot every 10 years. Other vaccines may be recommended based on occupational hazard, travel, or individual health needs.
Some sexually active adults may need Hepatitis A and/or Hepatitis B vaccines. People who are pregnant are recommended to receive the Tdap every time they become pregnant.
Young adults who did not receive an HPV vaccine in adolescence should receive one; men should get one up until age 21, and women should get one up until age 26. The HPV vaccine is cancer prevention; it immunizes you against strains of human papillomavirus which cause cervical, vaginal, anal, and vulval cancers. See more info here.
Receiving your vaccines not only protects you; it protects the people you come into contact with, including those at greater risk from illness, such as people with existing health problems, children, and the elderly. Vaccines cannot cause autism (this idea was first perpetuated by British doctor Andrew Wakefield, who completely fabricated his study linking a contemporary vaccine to autism in order to reduce competition for an alternate vaccine he had patented), and the vast majority cannot cause the disease they prevent; see here for further safety information.
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