A grown-up talk about vaccines

Millions of adults behind on their shots

Whooping cough. Mumps. Measles. Chickenpox. They’re not just for kids anymore — and neither are the vaccines that protect against them.

Vaccine-preventable diseases kill tens of thousands of North American adults each year and land plenty more in the hospital.

We’re talking about pneumococcal pneumonia and related diseases, which kill more than 45,000 adults; shingles, triggered by the chickenpox virus, which affects one million annually and often leaves behind excruciating nerve pain.

Measles and mumps can cause brain damage in adults (if you were born after 1956, you’re probably not immune).

Getting infected can spread diseases like whooping cough to unvaccinated babies.

Yet tens of millions of grown-ups are behind on their shots. In one recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, half of older adults skipped tetanus shots that protect against rare but deadly lockjaw and 76 per cent skipped the shingles vaccine. Meanwhile, it’s estimated more than one in six international travellers don’t have all the vaccines they need.

That boosts the risk for exposure to hepatitis A through tainted food and water, and for exposure to the measles. So here’s what you need to know.

Myth: I got all the vaccines I need as a kid.

Fact: You probably need some new ones — and a couple of boosters. In general, all adults need an annual flu shot; a tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (Tdap) shot or booster every 10 years; and older adults also need vaccines against shingles.

There are two pneumonia vaccines; ask your doctor if you need one or both. If you didn’t get them as a kid, you likely also need vaccines against chickenpox, hepatitis (A and B) and mumps, measles and rubella (MMR). Ask about the meningococcal vaccine, too. Myth: The side effects are scary. Fact: Side effects are rare. If you have a weakened immune system or have had an allergic reaction to a vaccine, there are some you should skip — and others where certain formulations may be a better choice for you. But it’s important to know that the risk for a serious reaction is very small, especially compared with the protection vaccines provide.

For instance, the pneumococcal vaccine cuts your risk for infection by as much as 70 per cent. And the shingles shot cuts risk for a blistery outbreak in half and reduces your odds for nerve pain by 67 per cent. Overall, the chance of gaining benefits from a vaccination is 40,000 times greater than the chance of incurring a serious side effect.