Among the many medical advances that have led to longer and healthier lives, few have had as much impact as vaccines.
Over the centuries, this methodology has protected people from disease and mitigated the effects of epidemics and pandemics, including the recent challenges posed by COVID-19. With numerous vaccines available, it’s essential to know which ones are crucial for keeping us protected from infections and more severe illnesses.
Residents of Goodyear, Arizona, seeking the necessary vaccinations can rely on Dr. John Monroe and the medical staff at Healthy Life Family Medicine.
Vaccinations, also called immunizations, work to build the body’s defenses against specific infections by exposing the body to a dead pathogen (a germ of the virus or bacteria) that causes the disease. This trains your immune system to recognize and eliminate it when exposed to a possible infection.
Once you receive a vaccine, your body undergoes a primary response; encountering the pathogen for the first time, it looks for B-cells to fight it by creating antibodies. When later exposed to the same virus or bacteria, you undergo a secondary response, which occurs more quickly, and your body produces antibodies to combat it.
In recent years, many misconceptions have become commonplace about the safety of vaccines or how useful they are, as some people still get sick after receiving them. Getting symptoms after a vaccination, for example, actually indicates its effectiveness because your body is going through the primary response.
While these injections often manage several strains of illnesses, such as the flu, there is always a chance of infection from other variants of the disease. Despite not being a perfect solution, vaccinations save lives globally, with shots to prevent over 30 types of diseases and infections, and prevent up to 5 million deaths annually.
The type of vaccine you need changes over your lifetime. While some should get routine shots yearly, like the flu, many others are only necessary at specific ages:
Over the first decade of your child’s life, they need hepatitis A and B, RSV, rotavirus, DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis), IPV (for polio), MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), varicella, Haemophilus influenzae, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.
The range for starting COVID-19 vaccines varies by population, but no child should receive it before six months of age.
During their early to late teenage years, children should receive vaccinations for hepatitis A and B, COVID-19, MMR, varicella, Tdap (the DTaP vaccine you get as you get older), HPV (human papillomavirus), MenACWY, MenB, and MenABCWY (meningococcal diseases), as well as RSV.
As a young adult, the chickenpox, HPV, COVID-19, hepatitis B, and MMR vaccines will best suit your needs. Tdap is necessary if you didn’t receive it as a teenager, and booster shots are recommended every decade after. Pregnant women should receive the Tdap vaccine between weeks 27 and 36 of pregnancy.
Entering your middle-aged years during this time, you should have received your COVID-19, Hepatitis B, and MMR vaccines.
At this time in your life, you need the shingles, pneumococcal, and COVID-19 shots.
The immune system weakens in this age group, so vaccinations such as updated COVID-19, pneumococcal, shingles, and RSV are crucial for preventing infections and diseases.
Your medical history also plays a role in your vaccination schedule; however, this outlines the basic needs for these shots across all age groups. If you need to get immunized, schedule an appointment with Dr. Monroe and Healthy Life Family Medicine today.
