Immunizationsto Get This Fall

As fall approaches, safeguard against the contagious illnesses that spread when cooler weather drives us all indoors. Immunizations are an excellent way to protect ourselves and our loved ones. According to the World Health Organization, however, immunization rates have not returned to 2019 levels due to pandemic-caused issues, making all of us less safe.
One illness that spreads as the temperature drops is respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which acts much like a cold. While for many of us, it’s a minor illness, it can be serious for older adults, babies and young children with certain health conditions, such as chronic lung disease. Vaccines should be considered for those groups.
Those 65 and older should get vaccinated for pneumococcal pneumonia. Cases of this bacterial infection can be mild, but older adults are more than ten times as likely to be hospitalized from it as younger adults according to the American Lung Association. Younger adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and certain other chronic illnesses should get the vaccine as well.
There can be up to a 60% reduced risk of the flu after a vaccine according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Flu season begins October 1. The Mayo Clinic estimates it could take two weeks after a vaccination for the body’s immunity to become more flu resistant, so try to get a shot this month or — at the latest — by the end of next. While the flu is often mild, the CDC estimates from 25,000 to 72,000 people lost their lives to it and 390,000 to 830,000 were hospitalized with it during last year’s flu season.
Consider getting your flu and COVID-19 shots together, making it easier to schedule both. The CDC’s website will give you current recommendations for those vaccines and boosters.
Luckily, children in accredited schools are safe from numerous life-threatening illnesses thanks to the vaccines they received to meet state requirements, such as measles, polio and tetanus. For more details on required and recommended shots for schoolchildren, see this helpful chart: in.gov/isbvi/files/2023-24-School-Immunization-Requirements.pdf.
To get your vaccines, call Eskenazi Health Connections at 317-880-7666 to schedule an appointment with a primary care doctor. Alternatively, meet up with Eskenazi Health’s traveling vaccination team at an event. Eskenazi Health Pharmacy locations offer vaccinations for adults and for children of at least three years old (can be vaccine dependent), including walk-in appointments during business hours. Call 317-880-0000 with questions.
Since pandemic-era government funding that covered costs for COVID-19 vaccines ended in August, check with your insurance to find out if you are covered before getting yours. The CDC’s Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program, which funds shots for kids whose parents or guardians have insufficient resources, will continue, but it can’t be used at pharmacies.
Just a little prevention can save you from sick days, hospitalization and even death, so get the vaccines you need this fall.
Broderick Rhyant, M.D., chief physician executive with Eskenazi Health Center Grande

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