The Importance Of Immunizations For Seniors
You may not know it, (and we don’t blame you) but this month is National Immunization Awareness Month! There’s a lot of talk on social media these days about the value of vaccinations and immunizations, the possible side effects, and the general need for them. We’d like to address some of these issues and give you a helpful tool to review your own risks.
Why Do Vaccinations Matter
First and foremost, they help protect you from getting potentially deadly infectious diseases. A helpful side effect of you not getting these diseases, is you don’t pass them on to others! Not only do you stay happy and healthy, but so does everyone else.
Secondly, immunizations can actually cause diseases to “die out” from our planet. Everyone likes to reference the United States’ successful elimination of Polio, and for good reason. This deadly disease contracted mostly by children can lead to permanent paralysis of certain body parts and eventually death through suffocation. However, thanks to immunizations, the number of cases were reduced by 99.99% in 2016, and as of 2017, the virus is only found in Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. None of that would be possible without immunizations.
Check If You’re Missing Any Vaccines
As we get older, our risk of infection and other health problems increases. What you may not consider however, is other very specific factors can further increase your risk of infection, so allow us to point a few out that you can consider for yourself.
- Do you or your loved one work in a health care setting?
- Do you travel often?
- Do you have diabetes?
- Have you removed your Spleen?
- Do you have a chronic lung disease, such as asthma?
These are just a few point to think about, but all of these can put you at a higher risk of certain infectious diseases, most of which can be safely dealt with through immunizations.
Immunizations & Seniors
If you or your loved one are 65 and older, it is especially important that you are up to date on your vaccinations. At this point in your life, you are much more susceptible to illness and disease. That raises the question, what should you be vaccinated for now? Thankfully, the government has put together a very helpful list that you can consult, which you can review by clicking here. It covers the vaccinations that one should have from 19 years old to 65+. It is a useful tool for young adults and seniors alike.
For a helpful quick look at what you should consider getting, you can also consult the Adult Vaccine Assessment Tool, linked below. It is a short quiz style questionnaire that will help assist you in finding the proper immunizations.