Immunizations

What are immunizations?

Immunizations, also called vaccines, are preventive medications that use a small amount of certain viruses or bacteria to prevent infection. When your Health Solutions doctor injects a weakened form of a virus or bacteria into your body, it stimulates your body’s natural immune response, triggering its ability to produce antibodies against the disease. 

For example, a flu vaccine contains small amounts of a weakened or killed flu virus. If you receive a flu vaccine, the next time you come in contact with the virus, your immune system naturally protects you against infection. While you can still become infected with the flu after immunization, your symptoms will be far milder than if you did not have the vaccine.

Why are immunizations important?

Immunization doesn’t just protect you against infection; it also prevents the spread of disease throughout the world. Once deadly diseases, such as measles, polio, mumps, and smallpox, have significantly decreased in prevalence over the last several decades, thanks to vaccines. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the measles vaccine alone has saved more than 17 million lives since 2000.

Which immunizations do I need?

Some of the most common immunizations that Health Solutions offers to children and adults include:

• MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)
• Pneumonia
• Polio
• Influenza (flu)
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis A and B
• Varicella (chickenpox)
• Human papillomavirus (HPV)
• Meningococcal meningitis
• TD (diphtheria and tetanus)
• Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis)
• Shingles

The team provides a variety of these immunizations in combination vaccines.

How often do I need to get immunizations?

You receive most of your immunizations during childhood and early adulthood. As part of the comprehensive pediatric care at Health Solutions, the team follows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for children’s vaccinations. Many of these vaccines protect against particular diseases for life. However, certain vaccines are only effective if you receive them annually.

The flu vaccine, for example, is a seasonal immunization. This means you should get a new flu vaccine one a year. Flu viruses are constantly changing, so it’s impossible to sustain lifelong protection with a single vaccine. Likewise, the CDC recommends that pregnant women get the Tdap vaccine each time they’re pregnant.

Elderly patients are especially susceptible to illness as they age and their immune systems weaken. That’s why it’s important to revaccinate for diseases like shingles.

To learn more about the benefits of immunization, call Health Solutions, or schedule an appointment online today.