August is National Immunization Awareness Month! August is the time that children begin to return to school. There are immunizations that are required in order for children and young adults to be able to attend all school grade levels from elementary through college. Although immunizations are indeed important for children and young adults to build up their immune system, the senior population is an overlooked vulnerable population which also needs to keep up with immunizations.
The immune system weakens with age as T cell function decreases. When this occurs, white blood cells don’t attack bacteria or viruses as quickly or effectively. Because of this, the senior population is vulnerable to communicable diseases such as the flu, shingles, and pneumonia. With increasing age along with comorbidities, it makes it harder for seniors to fight these diseases as easily with their weakened immune systems. For many, contracting one of these diseases can be life-threatening, cause life-long complications, or even cause a long-term hospital stay.
There are ways to strengthen one’s immune system including getting vaccinated, practicing hand washing, limiting exposure to young children, getting sufficient sleep, eating daily recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, drinking ample water, and decreasing or eliminating stress. The CDC provides a list of the vaccines that are recommended for seniors. It also recommends vaccines may need to be skipped or increased due to interaction with a given condition or comorbidities.
Being up to date with immunizations is also important when travel planning, either expected or unexpected— particularly out of the country. As seniors retire, they may go on more trips to places such as the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Korea, Egypt and many more. Countries may have diseases that are more common due to the weather, geography, or health conditions in the area, yet uncommon to the senior traveler. About a month before leaving for a trip, it is recommended that any traveler go to a clinic to get any preventative vaccinations. The World Health Organization compiled a list of countries and their vaccine requirements and recommendations. Please refer to this list to see which vaccines are needed for the travel destination.
Overall, immunizations help to strengthen one’s immune system and can prevent diseases. Immunizations are important not to just an individual, but to an entire community to make sure those who are the most vulnerable are also protected through herd immunity.
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By: Leila Lagandaon
Placement Coordinator at WellPath Partners
B.S. in Health Science, California State University, Long Beach
