| vaccination |
who should get it |
what is it? |
| Diphtheria |
Everyone should receive this immunization every 10
years, or immediately, if you have never received the series of
three shots |
A disease that can cause airways to
become blocked and lead to a coma |
| Hepatitis A |
Food handlers, those practicing unsafe sex, those
who use needles for drug use, or those who intend to travel to
high risk locations. |
Disease of the liver that, on average,
lasts for 28 days but can last as long as 50 days |
| Hepatitis B |
Healthcare workers, those who have kidney
problems and use hemodialysis or who have a blood transfusion |
Disease of the liver that subsides in 2 to 3 weeks
but can make the carrier susceptible to chronic hepatitis, such
as hepatitis C |
| Influenza |
Consult your physician. It may be necessary for those
who are pregnant, over 65, or those who work in the health care
industry to receive the vaccine annually. |
A virus that attacks the respiratory track and lasts
1-2 weeks, but if not treated properly, can lead to pneumonia |
| Measles |
Those who were not vaccinated by the
age of 1, those going to college or traveling abroad |
An infection that can lead to serious complications
like pneumonia, brain damage, ear infections, seizures, stomach
problems and sometimes death |
| Mumps |
Those over the age of 18, travelers, hospital workers,
or women who can have children |
A flu-like sickness that causes meningitis,
permanent deafness, and inflammation of the ovaries, testicles
and pancreas |
| Poliovirus to
prevent poliomyelitis (polio) |
Mothers who have not been vaccinated and will be
vaccinating their children for polio |
Polio is a virus that can lead to paralysis
of muscles, including lungs. |
| Pneumonia
Vaccine |
Annually for women over the age of 65, those with
poor immune systems and those who have had a splenectomy or splenic
dysfunction |
An inflammation of the lungs that can lead to serious
complications including death. Patients who contract the disease
may be hospitalized for 8 to 11 days. |
| Pneumococcus |
Those with long-term health problems relating to
the heart, lung, alcoholism and diabetes, liver, sickle cell. Or
those with a chronic illness like HIV/AIDS, cancer or organ transplant |
A dormant germ that lives in the nose
and throat and randomly attacks and causes death |
| Rubella |
If blood test shows that it is needed,
or if one was not given at birth |
An infection that causes a rash for one week. It
is potentially dangerous, as it can cause brain damage, deafness
or cause the miscarriage of a fetus if the mother is infected. |
| Tetanus |
Every 10 years
Every 5 years after an infected wound |
An infection that attacks the central nervous system,
sometimes leading to the death of the victim. It lasts anywhere
from 5 days to 15 weeks. |
| Varicella
(chicken pox) |
If blood test shows that it is needed,
or if one was not given at birth (those who have already had chicken
pox are generally immune) |
A strain of herpes that causes red marks to break
out all over the body. The virus can spread to nerve cells where
it remains for a lifetime. It often remains dormant but sometimes
can reappear during adulthood, causing shingles. The virus stays
in the body for 10 to 20 days before it causes the chicken pox
marks to break out. |
