National Immunization Month

July 31, 2016

August is National Immunization Month. This is a great time to talk with your doctor and make sure that you’re up to date with your immunizations. The thought of getting shots can be freighting. However, when you learn about the life-threating diseases that can happen without them, that small prick doesn’t seem so bad. There are four categories that you or your children might fall in to, birth to age six, preteens and teens, adult, and pregnant woman. Each of these four categories has different recommended immunizations.

Birth To Age Six

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that when a child is born to 6 years old that they get 10 different vaccinations. Some of the vaccinations require multiple doses. There is a great chart that shows the age ranges that the shots should be given. Below are a list of vaccines that should be given to this age group.

HepB vaccine helps to protect against Hepatitis B. This disease can give you chronic liver infections, liver failure or liver cancer.
RV vaccine protects against Rotavirus. This disease can give you severe diarrhea and dehydration.
DTaP vaccine helps protect against Diphtheria, which is a disease that gives you swelling of the heart muscle, heart failure, coma, paralysis and even death. This vaccine helps protect against Tetanus which is a disease that leads to broken bones, breathing difficulties and death. It also protects against Pertussis which is the medical term for Pneumonia, which is an infection in the lungs that can cause death if it’s severe enough.
Hib vaccine protects against Haemophilus influenae which can lead to meningitis, intellectual disability, epiglottitis infection which can block the windpipe, pneumonia, and cause death.
PCV, which stands for pneumococcus. This disease can lead to bacteremia, meningitis, and death.
IPV vaccine protects against polio, a disease that can lead to paralysis and death.
Varicella vaccine protects against the chickenpox. This disease can lead to infected blisters, bleeding disorders, encephalitis and pneumonia.
HepA vaccine protects against Hepatitis A which can lead to liver failure, arthralgia, kidney, pancreatic and blood disorders.
Flu vaccine protects against influenza which can lead to pneumonia.
MMR vaccine protects against measles which can lead to encephalitis, pneumonia and death. It protects against the mumps as well which can lead to meningitis, encephalitis, inflammation of the testicles and ovaries and deafness. It also protects against rubella which is serious for pregnant woman, as it can lead to a miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery and birth defects.

Preteens And Teens

This age group is age 7 through 18. The CDC recommends four shots in-between these ages.

Flu vaccine which is listed above.
HPV vaccine helps protect against the human papillomavirus and from most cancers that are caused by HPV.
Meningococcal vaccine protects against the bacteria that causes meningococcal disease. This can lead to meningitis and blood stream infections.
Tdap is a booster shot that protects this age group against the same diseases as DTaP which is listed above.

Adults

This age group is ages 19 and older. The CDC recommends this age group to get eleven different shots depending on your age and certain health risks. Several of these vaccines are recommended for younger groups as well, and are listed above in more detail.

Flu vaccine is recommended for all ages.
Td or Tdap is recommended for all ages.
Shingles vaccine is recommended for ages 60 and older. This virus can cause a painful rash that appears in a blister form.
PCV13 and PPSV23 are recommended if you have certain health risks and protects against the pneumococcal virus. This virus can cause many types of illnesses some include ear infections and meningitis.
MenaACWY or MPSV4 and MenB is recommended if you have certain health risks and protects against the Meningococcal virus.
MMR vaccine.
HPV vaccine is for people who are 19-26 years of age.
Chickenpox is recommended for all ages.
Hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccines are recommended if you have certain health risks.
Hib vaccine is recommended if you have certain health risks.

Pregnant Woman

This group is recommended to get all the shots as the adult group, however there are some that they should not get. The three that could harm you if you are pregnant are shingles vaccine, MMR and the chickenpox vaccine.

How To Help

There are so many kids that have life threating illnesses and could benefit from your unused vehicle. You can donate your unused vehicle to Wheels For Wishes, a car donation organization that benefits children's charities in your area. You can click on the chapter locater to see what charities are located near you. Donating your vehicle can be done in one easy step either by calling 1-855-278-9474 or by filling out our online donation form. Don’t wait! Donate today!