It is flu season and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging people to get vaccinated.

  • Vaccines save up to 42,000 lives each year in the U.S.
  • Vaccines offer adults, as well as kids, important protection against the flu and other potentially deadly diseases
  • It's not too late for adults to get vaccinated 

The Immunization Partnership says the flu kills more people each year than all other vaccine-preventable diseases combined.

However, the flu isn't the only disease adults should be vaccinated against. 

"One of the greatest public health milestones over the years has been immunizations," says Dr. Miller Sullivan, the medical director at Franklin County Public Health.  "It has helped us prevent the spread of disease and it's a wonderful thing."

He stresses the importance of vaccines, which are estimated to save up to 42,000 lives in the U.S. every year.

"As we get older and we get healthy and we're young adults and older adults, we don't tend to think of immunizations as much and they're equally as important," he says.

First, Dr. Sullivan says if you are a young adult and have not had certain vaccines as a kid, you may still need to get them now. 

"So for instance if you haven't had your MMR, or your chicken pox vaccine, or the HPV vaccine, these are vaccines that young adults should get."

And then there are the recommended scheduled immunizations for adults.

"Everybody should get a flu vaccine every year, that's very important.  Flu is a nasty disease, it can be deadly if you have complications.  The HPV vaccine for young adults, up through the age of 26, and actually they just changed the recommendation and it will probably be through the age of 45. Everybody needs a tetanus booster every 10 years.  Going forward, when you get to middle age, 50 and above, there's a new shingles vaccine.  And this is a vaccine that helps prevent shingles, which is a reoccurrence of the chicken pox virus.  it can be very painful, it's a rash, and you can have complications from it."

The CDC says one in three people will develop shingles in their lifetime.  Shingrix is a new vaccine that has been found to be 90 percent effective at preventing Shingles, but because of that, the high demand has caused a shortage of the vaccine.  Check with your doctor regarding supply.  

"We recommend the more elderly people get the Pneumococcal vaccine and this is age 65 and above.  There's two different ones."

There are also vaccines recommended for those with particular health risks. 

"If you're at risk for liver disease, you might be recommended to get the Hepatitis A or B vaccine.  There's a Meningococcal vaccine which is a germ that causes inflammation in the brain and spinal cord. So students in college, if you're traveling to parts of the world where there's a lot of meningitis."

As for fears of side effects, Dr. Sullivan says, "Vaccines like any medicines can have side effects.  The vast majority of these are minor and tolerable.  But the risk of getting the disease far outweighs the risk of getting a serious reaction."

Dr. Sullivan says vaccines are like insurance policies against getting the disease.  

While they are not a 100% guarantee, he says they work very well at protecting people. 

And the gamble is not only if you are exposed to the disease, but if you get complications, that could put you in the hospital or even cause death. 

So talk with your doctor and click here for the CDC's easy to read immunization schedule for adults.