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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
- FAQs about Vaccines and Diseases They Prevent (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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Get Important Shots
(Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion)
- Immunization Schedules for Adults (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- List of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Vaccines for Adults: Which Do You Need? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Vaccines.gov (Department of Health and Human Services) Also in Spanish
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What Is a Vaccine?
(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
Latest News
- Genital Herpes Vaccine Shows Promise in Animal Trials (01/19/2017, HealthDay)
- Ebola Vaccine Appears Very Effective in Trial (12/23/2016, HealthDay)
- Mumps Cases Hit 10-Year High in U.S. (12/21/2016, HealthDay)
- More News on Immunization
Diagnosis and Tests
- Screening Checklist for Contraindications to Vaccines for Adults (Immunization Action Coalition) - PDF Also in Spanish
Related Issues
- 10 Reasons to Get Vaccinated (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
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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)
- Fainting (Syncope) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Finding Your Adult Vaccination Record (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) Also 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) Also in Spanish
Statistics and Research
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Safeguarding Our Health: Vaccines Protect Us All (National Institutes of Health)
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: Exercise prior to influenza vaccination for limiting influenza incidence and...
- Article: HIV-1 therapy with monoclonal antibody 3BNC117 elicits host immune responses...
- Article: Meeting Postpartum Women's Family Planning Needs Through Integrated Family Planning...
- Immunization -- see more articles
Reference Desk
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Overview of the Immune System (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
Find an Expert
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also 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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Childhood Immunization: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine)
Also in Spanish
Women
- Immunization and Pregnancy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- Immunization for Women (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
- Vaccines and Pregnancy (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also 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 (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
