Preventing Infectious Disease with Immunizations

Bacteria, viruses, parasites and other germs (microbes) cause many human diseases. Vaccines can help protect against some of these microbes and save millions of lives.

During immunization, you are exposed to a very small and safe amount of part of a microbe. Your body's immune system responds to the vaccine by making substances called antibodies. If you are exposed to the microbe itself at a later time, the antibodies will kill the microbe and prevent infection, or you may have a milder infection.

Recommended childhood immunizations

In the U.S., many vaccines are first given during infancy. Even most premature infants can be immunized on a normal schedule. Experts recommend that all children through 18 years of age be routinely vaccinated against the following diseases:

• Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)
• Diphtheria
• Tetanus
• Pertussis (whooping cough)
• Poliomyelitis
• Varicella (chickenpox)
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (a cause of meningitis)
• Human papillomavirus
• Influenza (flu)
• Pneumococcal disease
• Meningococcal disease
• Rotavirus

Common adult immunizations

Most vaccines are given by an injection. Some can be taken orally (by mouth) or by a nasal spray. Vaccines against the following diseases are recommended for adults:

• Influenza (flu)
• Pneumococcal pneumonia
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Meningococcal meningitis
• Tetanus
• Diphtheria
• Pertussis
• Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)
• Shingles 
• Human papillomavirus (HPV)
• Varicella (chickenpox)

Travel medicine and immunizations

Travel medicine at Franciscan Health fills a need in the community by providing travel immunizations at an affordable cost to individuals and companies.

More than 61 million U.S. residents are expected to travel internationally. Yet a large majority of them will not do the one thing that could mean the difference between a successful trip and a disaster: get vaccinated against diseases prevalent in the countries they’ll be visiting. Studies have shown that while individuals believed that vaccines were effective for disease prevention, few are vaccinated for their journey. 

It is important to plan ahead. Some vaccinations are given in a one to three shot series over a period of time. It takes 14 to 30 days from the time of the immunization for some antibody production to take place. Certain vaccines for different diseases should be administered four weeks apart.