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Doctors Recommend Vaccines For Adults

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― If you haven't had shots since you were a kid, you may be at risk for some contagious diseases - some can be serious, or even fatal.

Like many adults, you might be behind on your immunizations.

One local woman doesn't recall getting any vaccines since adolescence. "Maybe one of those tetanus shots. Is that a vaccine? I stepped on a nail at age 12, so I did that. But nothing since then."

Adults tend to worry more about their kids, rather than themselves, when it comes to vaccines.

One local man did have a recent update. "It was for the measles, and I had it a few years ago."

So why do so many grown-ups short change their shots?

"To go to school, you have to get all your scheduled vaccinations," says Dr. Scott Vargo, and internist at Allegheny General Hospital, "[adults] don't get them because there's not any universal process to make them get them."

Here are the recommended shots for adults: 

Everyone over 50 should get an annual flu shot.

For those over 65, there's a one time vaccine for pneumonia.

Get a booster for tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis...in part, to prevent pertussis, or whooping cough, in children.

"New grandparents, new parents should be immunized with this. It's a one time shot," says Dr. Vargo

Gardasil is one of the newer vaccines. It protects against genital warts and cervical cancer. It's for women 15 to 26.

"The age limits will probably be stretched, and they're even looking at studies in men," Dr. Vargo explains.

If an adult has not had the chickenpox, a chickenpox vaccine is recommended, because the illness in an adult can be very serious, and sometimes, fatal.

For shingles, a painful recurrence of the chickenpox -- even it has a vaccine for people over 60...but availability and insurance coverage can vary.

The meningitis shot is required for college aged adults.

A measles, mumps, and rubella booster should be given if blood tests show that your immunity from childhood vaccines has worn off.

A hepatits B vaccine is recommended, unless you're under 20 -- in which case, you've probably already had these shots.

Hepatitis A is one of the main vaccinations you get if you're going to be traveling in an underdeveloped country.

Occasionally, dr. vargo has to fight the fear of vaccines in his patients, for example, their concerns that the immunization will cuase the disease it's designed to protect against.

Side effects with vaccines are uncommon. Some mild redness and fever tend to go away quickly. In very rare instances, some people have had a neurologic condition called Guillain Barre syndrome. The vast majority of people do just fine with immunizations.

But some people simply aren't aware there are immunizations adults should get.

"I'm going to go to my office right now and call my doctor and ask him," a local man said hurriedly, after realizing he couldn't remember his last vaccine.

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