August 2025

Most people know kids need regular vaccines to stay healthy during childhood. But getting immunized is still important for adults — it’s just that the vaccines you need are a little different. Here are some key vaccines you should consider working into your wellness plan to protect yourself and others.

Influenza

While the flu often causes a week or two of fever, fatigue, and respiratory symptoms, it can also become more serious. In the U.S. alone, the CDC estimates that the influenza virus leads to 120,000 to 710,000 hospitalizations and 6,300 to 52,000 deaths each year. Young children, people over 65, pregnant women, and people with underlying medical conditions are most at risk of developing serious complications from the flu. However, no one is immune to the more significant impacts of the flu, and anyone who catches it can spread it to the more vulnerable people in their lives.

RSV

RSV is a common respiratory disease that spreads like the flu. Like the flu, common symptoms include fever, coughing, sneezing, a runny nose, and a decreased appetite.

While the disease is often like a cold for most people, older adults, especially those over 60, are more at risk of serious complications because their immune systems are less efficient at fighting off illness.

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases estimates that between 100,000 and 160,000 adults aged 60 and older are hospitalized due to RSV each year.

The CDC recommends a single dose of the RSV vaccine for anyone 75 or older. The CDC recommends getting that single dose earlier, as young as age 60, for anyone at increased risk of serious complications from RSV. Risk factors include:

• Heart disease.
• Chronic lung or respiratory disease.
• End-stage kidney disease.
• Diabetes if insulin-dependent or complicated by kidney disease, neuropathy, or retinopathy.
• Chronic liver disease.
• BMI greater than 40.
• Moderate or severe immune compromise.
• Living in a nursing home.

HepB

Hepatitis B is an infectious liver disease that spreads through contact with infected blood or bodily fluids from someone with a Hepatitis B infection. Sometimes, the disease can be asymptomatic or mild and only last for a short period of time after infection. Other times, it can become a chronic condition and can lead to serious complications, including liver damage and even death. Fortunately, it is preventable through vaccination.

The CDC recommends Hep B vaccination for all adults ages 19 to 59 (including pregnant women) and for adults 60+ who are at higher risk of contracting Hep B. Adults 60+ who aren’t at higher risk may receive the vaccine if they wish.

Risk factors for contracting HepB include:

• People with a history of sexually transmitted infections or multiple sex partners.
• People with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.
• Men who have sex with men.
• People who live with — or have sexual contact with — someone who has a known HepB infections.
• People who inject drugs, especially if they share needles with others.
• People on maintenance dialysis.
• People with elevated liver enzymes.

Chicken Pox

For many people who had chicken pox as a child, it was an uncomfortable, itchy experience that kept them out of school for a week or more. But chicken pox can also cause serious complications, such as pneumonia, infection or inflammation of the brain, and blood infections. A serious case of chicken pox can lead to hospitalization or even death.

Depending on your age, you may or may not have been vaccinated against chicken pox as a child because the vaccine wasn’t released until 1995. If you’ve had a confirmed case of chicken pox, you don’t need to get vaccinated. Immunity acquired from infection typically lasts for life.

Adults who need the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine should get a series of two shots, administered at least four weeks apart.

Shingles

Shingles is a painful, burning rash caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. The rash typically only lasts two to four weeks. However, the CDC reports that in 10% to 18% of cases, there is debilitating pain that can last for months or even years. The pain can be so severe that it interferes with your daily life. In rare cases, shingles can lead to pneumonia, hearing problems, blindness, or even death.

Anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk of developing shingles. The CDC recommends that healthy adults ages 50 and older get two doses of the shingles vaccine, with the second shot given two to six months after the first.

Pneumococcal

Pneumonia is a serious (and potentially fatal) infection of the lungs caused by a bacterial, viral, or fungal infection, including influenza. One pathogen that can cause pneumonia is a bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae. Infection with this bacteria causes pneumococcal disease, and pneumococcal pneumonia is the most common serious complication from infection.

The CDC recommends the pneumococcal vaccine for all adults aged 50 and older and for adults ages 19 to 49 who have certain risk factors, like alcoholism, smoking, or chronic illness of the heart, lungs, or kidneys. Other risk factors include cochlear implants, liver disease, being immunocompromised, and diabetes. Often, only one dose is needed. However, the CDC recommends one or two additional doses for those with certain chronic medical conditions, so talk with your doctor.

HPV

HPV stands for human papillomavirus, which is a group of viruses that cause noncancerous warts. Some types of HPV can also lead to cancer of the cervix, anus, penis, vulva, vagina or throat. The HPV vaccine, which protects against infection with certain strains of human papillomavirus, can therefore help reduce your chances of developing these cancers.

The CDC recommends that everyone up to age 26 get vaccinated against HPV. Adults require a series of three shots.

Tetanus (Tdap or Td)

Tetanus (commonly referred to as “lockjaw”) is a non-contagious infection with the bacteria Clostridium tetani, which can be found in soil, dust, and manure. It enters the body through a cut, puncture wound, burn, or other injury. Vaccines are the best way to protect against tetanus.

Adults need a tetanus booster shot every 10 years. This shot is typically given in the form of a Tdap vaccine (which also protects against diphtheria and pertussis) or a Td vaccine (which also protects against diphtheria).

If you have questions about these vaccines or others, your Good Neighbor Pharmacy pharmacist can help.