Vaccination for seniors: 5 recommended vaccines and why they are important

Vaccination is the most effective health strategy to arm up yourself from infectious diseases. Vaccines show the threat to your immune system and train them to fight the real infection. India is a country with minimal resistance for vaccines but what we lack is the awareness.

People only think of children and pregnant women when they think of vaccines. Adults and even older adults can benefit significantly from vaccinations. In fact, as the only preventive care measure in today’s medicine, vaccines give the optimal protection for both men and women in old age.

Covid-19 vaccine is the talk of the town in the recent past. It deserves utmost priority. If you have not been vaccinated or your second dose is due, please go and take your vaccine. Having said that, there are other important vaccines for seniors that should not be ignored.

Stay with us until the end of the blog as we explore more about the importance of vaccinations for seniors, adult vaccination schedules, and the need for vaccination.

What makes vaccinations for seniors so important?

As a person grows, immunity loses its effectiveness and vigor while fighting the infections. This makes older adults vulnerable and easy targets for infections. Health issues like flu, pneumonia, and shingles infect seniors easily. Without a proper diagnosis and treatment, these infections can be fatal sometimes.

Seniors will have to face serious consequences for the same infections for which the younger generations don’t even need medical help. In addition, seniors might have to take longer to recover from simple health issues.

What are the recommended vaccines for seniors in India?

Seniors can avoid all these issues by simply opting in for vaccines. However, seniors do not have a particular vaccination schedule in India due to lack of proper medical history of the individual and the basic awareness.

However, doctors recommend the following vaccines for seniors in India, considering the prevalence and geographical conditions. These vaccines significantly cut down seniors' chances of getting infected with influenza, zoster, tetanus, and pneumonia which are common communicable diseases in India.

1. Influenza

Influenza is a common viral infection. Showing the symptoms like fever, physical exhaustion, headache, cough and muscle soreness, influenza can make seniors vulnerable.

How can the influenza vaccine help?

The vaccine for influenza is made, like any other vaccine, from the inactive form of the influenza virus. Upon detecting the virus in the body, the immune system responds to the inactive virus and be prepared for the active form of virus in the body.

All seniors who are above 60 can take the influenza vaccine once a year after duly consulting with your medical specialist.

2. Pneumococcal disease

Commonly known as pneumonia, this can be a severe infection in seniors. Pneumonia infects the bloodstream, spreading to key organs like the lungs, spinal cord and even the brain. The symptoms start with a continuous cough, wheezing, difficulty in breathing, to infecting the limbs, brain damage, loss of physical activity and even mortality.

How can pneumococcal vaccines help?

With pneumococcal vaccine, seniors receive enough immunity power to fight off the infection at its first touch with the system. It’s a two-dose vaccine. Seniors are recommended to take this vaccine once in every two years.

3. Shingles

Shingles is caused by a virus called varicella-zoster, the same virus that causes chickenpox. Shingles infects skin by causing painful blisters and rashes that disrupt a senior’s overall health. Besides being a long-term pain inflicting infection, this is contagious. Chickenpox, at least in most cases, is somewhat mild but shingles shows severe symptoms.

How can shingles vaccine help?

Older adults are more likely to get infected by this virus and vaccines prevent that. It’s a two-dose vaccine that you need to get each shot with a few months apart.

4. TDAP or tetanus diphtheria and pertussis

Tetanus diphtheria and pertussis are serious medical conditions which can be fatal among the elderly in the absence of the required treatment. The three conditions will attack as one, disrupting the ability to breathe. Tetanus causes tightening of muscles making them hard to move, swallow, and breathe. Diphtheria forms a thick mucus at the back of the throat which stops breathing. Pertussis causes a severe cough that is extremely intense.

How can the TDAP vaccine help?

The TDAP vaccine prevents all these infections combined. The vaccine should be taken once in every ten years.

5. MMR or Measles, Mumps and Rubella

The symptoms of MMR can be severe. The infections destroy the lungs while slowly spreading to the brain causing inflammation, damage, and deafness. Seniors are more likely to get infected with MMR.

How does the MMR vaccine help elders?

MMR is a serious condition and treating it is difficult too. Instead, seniors can take the MMR vaccine as a single dose for a protection that is lifetime.

Vaccines protect seniors from various conditions that can be fatal. Get your vaccine shot without any further delay.

This blog is only for informative and awareness purposes. Do not consider it as medical advice. Do consult your doctor and take their opinion before getting any vaccination or immune system supplements.