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Summary
Shots may hurt a little, but the diseases they can prevent are a lot worse. Some are even life-threatening. Immunization shots, or vaccinations, are essential. They protect against things like measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B, polio, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough). Immunizations are important for adults as well as children.
Your immune system helps your body fight germs by producing substances to combat them. Once it does, the immune system "remembers" the germ and can fight it again. Vaccines contain germs that have been killed or weakened. When given to a healthy person, the vaccine triggers the immune system to respond and thus build immunity.
Before vaccines, people became immune only by actually getting a disease and surviving it. Immunizations are an easier and less risky way to become immune.
NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Latest News
- Clues to Zika Virus' Structure May Point to Weaknesses (03/31/2016, HealthDay)
- Adults Don't Need Tetanus Shot Every Decade (03/25/2016, HealthDay)
- New Dengue Virus Vaccine Shows Promise (03/16/2016, HealthDay)
- FDA Researchers Advance Science for Vaccines to Prevent Mumps and Whooping Cough (03/08/2016, Food and Drug Administration)
- More News on Immunization
Diagnosis and Tests
- Screening Checklist for Contraindications to Vaccines for Adults (Immunization Action Coalition) - PDF Available in Spanish
Related Issues
- 10 Reasons to Get Vaccinated (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Available in Spanish
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Community Immunity (Herd Immunity)
(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
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Community Immunity: How Vaccines Protect Us All
(National Institutes of Health)
- Current Vaccine Shortages and Delays (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Evaluating Information about Vaccines on the Internet (National Network for Immunization Information)
- Finding Your Adult Vaccination Record (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Frequently Asked Questions on Syncope After Vaccination (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Heart Disease, Stroke, or Other Cardiovascular Disease and Adult Vaccination (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- HIV Infection and Adult Vaccination (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Ingredients of Vaccines (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Liver Disease and Adult Vaccination (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Possible Side-Effects from Vaccines (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Understanding Thimerosal, Mercury, and Vaccine Safety (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- Vaccinations for Adults with Diabetes (Immunization Action Coalition) - PDF
- Vaccine Adverse Events (Food and Drug Administration)
- Vaccines and Thimerosal (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Weakened Immune System and Adult Vaccination (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- What Would Happen If We Stopped Vaccinations? (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Available in Spanish
- Who Should Not Get Vaccinated with These Vaccines? (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Images
- Vaccine-Preventable Disease Photos (Immunization Action Coalition)
Health Check Tools
- What Vaccines Do You Need? (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Available in Spanish
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Vaccines
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Vaccine Adverse Reactions
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Association Between Vaccine Refusal and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in the United...
- Article: Adult vaccines for individuals with human immunodeficiency virus infection.
- Article: Educational Intervention in Primary Care Residents' Knowledge and Performance of...
- Immunization -- see more articles
Reference Desk
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Immune System
(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
Find an Expert
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Available in Spanish
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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- Travelers' Health: Destinations (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Children
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MedlinePlus: Childhood Immunization
(National Library of Medicine) Available in Spanish
Women
- Immunization and Pregnancy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- Immunization for Women (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
- Immunization Issues: Vaccines for Pregnant Women (National Network for Immunization Information)
- Vaccines and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) - PDF Available in Spanish
Seniors
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Recommended Immunizations for Adults 50+
(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
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Shots for Safety
(National Institute on Aging)
Patient Handouts
- Immunizations - diabetes Available in Spanish