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Vaccines? Yes, You

       You might assume that vaccine shots are just for kids.  But adults aren't off the hook.  Immunity conferred by certain childhood vaccinations can begin to fade over time, and with advancing age adults can become more susceptible to vaccine-preventable diseases like flue and pneumonia.  What's more, newer vaccines, such as the one against chicken pox, weren't available when some of today's adults were children.

       "Far too many adults become ill, are disabled, and die each year from diseases that could easily have been prevented by vaccines," say the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Vaccines that all adults should be up to date with include those for tetanus and diphtheria; measles, mumps, and rubella; chicken pox; and, for people at risk, hepatitis B.  Those over 50 should add a flu shot, and anyone over 65 should get a pneumonia vaccination, too.  Below, a list of immunizations, along with the reasons it's well worth it to roll up your sleeve and wait for the "pinch."  Check with your doctor to see which ones you definitely need.

*Which Shots You May Need To Get - And Why*

Varicella (chicken pox): 2 doses, 4-8 weeks apart
Chicken pox can be particularly serious in adults, leading to severe, skin infection, scars, pneumonia, brain damage, even death.  The disease sends about 12,000 people to the hospital each year.

Hepatitis B: 3 doses over 4-6 months
This virus, which infects the liver, can lead to cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver and liver cancer.  It kills 4,000 to 5,000 people every year.

Measles-Mumps-Rubella: 2 doses, at least 1 month apart
Measles can cause ear infections, seizures, brain damage, and death; mumps, deafness, and meningitis.  If a woman gets rubella during pregnancy, she could miscarry or have a baby with serious birth defects.

Diphtheria-Tetanus: 3 doses over a year; booster shots every 10 years
Diphtheria, a respiratory disease spread by coughing and sneezing, can cause airway obstruction, come, and death.  Tetanus, brought on by bacteria that enter the body through wounds and cuts, can act on the nervous system to cause muscle spasms and rigidity that can lead to respiratory paralysis.  It causes death in one third of cases, especially in people over age 50.

Influenza: Once a year
This shot reduces flu-related hospitalizations and other complications.  Vaccination may not prevent flu entirely, but it will ensure that you get a much milder case.

Pneumonia: One dose (for most people)
Pneumonia (infection of the lungs), once easily conquered with penicillin, has now become more resistant to treatment with antibiotics.  That makes it particularly important to get the pneumococcal vaccine.  Pneumonia is one of the most common vaccine-preventable causes of death in this country.

Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter
November 2002 Issue, Page 3