Are You Up-to-Date on Your Immunizations?

Immunizations are for adults as well as children. Are yours up-to-date? If you don’t know or aren't sure, it’s important to find out so you can stay healthy and strong. Many immunizations require regular boosters, but far too many adults don’t realize their health is at risk and miss one or more of these over the years.

Physicians for Women in Madison, Wisconsin includes Phases, a subset of primary care providers who are experts in immunization counseling. If you’re behind on immunizations, ask us about getting your vaccines up-to-date, especially if you are or want to become pregnant, are elderly or have significant health risks.

Vaccines adults should get

All healthy adults should get certain types of vaccines, and many of these need to be boosted at regular intervals to keep your body immune.

• The influenza vaccine (flu shot) gpeople 6 months of age and older should get immunized against the flu. 
• Tdap--tetanus and diphtheria-- booster every 10 years.

Your doctor may also recommend (some) of the following vaccines:

• Human papillomavirus (HPV) for all healthy adults up to the age of 45 
• Shingles (herpes zoster vaccine) for all healthy adults over the age of 50 --this is a 2 part series (Shingrix) that provides strong protection against shingles, and side effects of shingles. 
• COVID-19 vaccine- evolving, but should be relatively available for the general public as 2021 progresses. This vaccine is strongly recommended for the general public when it becomes readily available. The FDA and CDC are continually monitoring the safety of this vaccine. 

Immunizations and pregnancy

Are you planning a pregnancy, and unsure about your immunization status? If you grew up unvaccinated, your own child could be at risk. Talk with your doctor about getting up-to-date on all your vaccines before you start working on getting pregnant, especially if you don’t think you ever got the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. This should be given a month or more before pregnancy. 

The CDC recommends that you get two vaccines in particular during your pregnancy. First, get the injected flu vaccine (inactive, not the live nasal flu spray), which can protect both you and your child.

Second, get the Tdap, recommended for healthy pregnant women between the 27th and 36th week of pregnancy even if you’ve had the booster recently. Getting another shot can help your newborn avoid getting whooping cough before they turn two months old and can get their own vaccine.

If you’re worried about vaccines because you’re immunocompromised, have a history of seizures, or are allergic to some vaccines, talk with us about what you can do to keep you and your baby safe. 

If you need more answers about immunizations or think you’re due for a vaccine booster, let your doctor know as soon as possible.  You can schedule a visit by calling 608-218-4835, or book an appointment online.