Recommended Inoculations

On a visit to the allergist last month she asked whether I had a flu shot yet.
No, I'm having a physical in January and I'll get one then.
That's great, she said. Meanwhile, you might want to ask him about these others. She brandished a report by the CDC:

Vaccines Recommended for Older Adults

Influenza vaccine, which protects against seasonal flu (for all adults every year)

Td vaccine, which protects against tetanus (for all adults every 10 years)

Tdap vaccine, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (also known as whooping cough) (for all adults once instead of Td vaccine)

Pneumococcal vaccine, which protects against pneumococcal diseases that cause infections in the lungs, blood, brain and ear (for all adults over 65 years old, and for adults younger than 65 years who have certain chronic health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, lung disease, or who smoke)

Zoster vaccine, which protects against shingles (for adults 60 years or older)

There may be other vaccines to consider because your health, job, or lifestyle may put you at higher risk for certain diseases. For example, people with diabetes are recommended to also get the Hepatitis B vaccine.

I wish that I had been made aware of these recommendations in 2012, before I came down with the shingles that put me out of commission for over a month.

Any one of the other maladies will put a crimp in achieving ambitions for 2014. Recommended inoculations: another item on the to-do list for January. © 2014 Stephen Yuen