Stay Current to Stay Healthy: Kids and Grownups

Want to keep your family healthy? Stay up to date on recommended vaccinations – not just for the kids in your household but also for the adults.

“Vaccinations are key to avoiding preventable illnesses,” said Pooja Sheth-Dutt, MD, a family medicine physician with Memorial Care. “Being sick can lead to missing school, work or fun activities like sports or vacations on top of the discomfort of not feeling well or the risk of dealing with more serious illness.”

Protect your family’s well-being by staying knowledgeable about recommended vaccine schedules. According to pediatrician Mackenzie Heywood, MD, with Memorial Care, school-age children should stay current with the following vaccines:

• Students beginning kindergarten: Required preschool vaccinations, including measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) and diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis-polio (DTaP-IPV)
• 11-year-olds: Recommended to start human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine; a second dose can be given in six months or at the next year’s checkup
• 11- and 12-year-olds: Tetanus-diptheria-acelluar pertussis (DTaP) vaccine and the first dose of meningococcal ACWY (MenACWY-D) vaccine
• 16-year-olds: Second dose of meningococcal ACWY (MenACWY-D) vaccine

Dr. Heywood notes that, unfortunately, childhood diseases like measles and pertussis are still very much a threat.

“Illnesses like these can cause dangerous complications, but they’re easily preventable with a simple vaccine,” she said. “Not only do recommended vaccinations protect your child’s health, but they also contribute to keeping the overall community healthy.”

At the same time, adult immunizations offer key protections against seasonal illnesses like flu, RSV or COVID-19, and they potentially reduce your risk of severe illness, hospitalization or flu-related complications.

For adults dealing with chronic health conditions – diabetes, heart disease or respiratory conditions – vaccinations can provide a buffer between manageable exposure to illness and severe complications.

It’s not just seasonal illnesses that can be addressed by vaccinations. Older adults who schedule the shingles series of vaccinations can avoid a highly painful and often debilitating condition that can last two to four weeks. Shingles is marked by heightened skin sensitivity that can include tingling and excessive itching, followed by a painful rash.

Dr. Sheth-Dutt encourages adults to discuss the following vaccinations with their primary care provider:

• Annual flu vaccine
• Td/Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis)
• Shingles vaccine (for adults 50+)
• Pneumococcal vaccines (for adults 65+ or those with certain health conditions)
• COVID-19 vaccine and boosters as recommended

Want to improve your odds of staying healthy? Ask your family physician to determine which vaccines are best for every member of your family, based on age and health status.

Need to find a doctor? Visit Memorial Care for a list of physicians accepting new patients.