In the case of healthy adults, there are many cases in which vaccinations are skipped because they do not feel the need to be vaccinated. However, in order to prevent disease and maintain good health, vaccination is necessary regardless of age. There are also immunizations that are particularly important for certain diseases, occupations and travelers to certain regions. The first step in preventing infectious diseases, from the types of vaccinations to questions related to them. I listened closely to the director of internal medicine, Kang Geun-hee (one following another internal medicine clinic).
Director Kang Geun-hee of Internal Medicine Clinic｜Source: Hidak
Q. What vaccinations are recommended for adults?
Recommended vaccinations for older adults include pneumococcal, tetanus, and shingles vaccines, and a flu vaccine given once every October and November. In addition, hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccines are recommended. The chickenpox vaccine is recommended for those born following 1970 and women of childbearing age who are not immune to chickenpox. In the case of HPV vaccine, it is recommended for adult women under the age of 26 and adult men under the age of 21, but vaccination is recommended until the age of 26 for immunocompromised persons, including those infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and homosexual men.
Q. Could you please explain in detail regarding the pneumococcal vaccine?
Pneumococcal vaccines include 13-valent protein-conjugated vaccine and 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine. The 13-valent vaccine ends with a single dose, and the 23-valent vaccine is recommended to be vaccinated once before age 65, 5 years following the previous dose and once following age 65, for a total of 2 doses. Currently, one dose of 23 vaccines is provided free of charge to those over the age of 65.
Q. Do I need the shingles vaccine even if I have never had chickenpox?
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all adults over 60 years of age receive a single dose of the vaccine. The shingles vaccine is known to prevent 50 to 60% of the incidence of shingles and postherpetic neuralgia.
If you have had chickenpox, you need to be vaccinated because the chickenpox virus is dormant in the body and then reactivates later and develops in the form of shingles. Even if you have never had chickenpox, vaccination is recommended because you may not remember well or you may have had a mild case of chickenpox. Another study found that 99.1% of Koreans aged 10 years and older had been exposed to the chickenpox virus.
Q. I wonder why I need to get the flu vaccine every year.
This is because the effectiveness of the antibodies in the flu vaccine is less than a year. Also, the fact that the virus that spreads due to antigenic mutations each year is different is one of the reasons why you should get the flu vaccine every year.
The effectiveness of the flu vaccine is regarding 70-90% in healthy adults, and it is lowered to 30-40% in the elderly. In the case of the elderly, the effect is lower, but flu vaccine can reduce the risk of hospitalization by 50 to 60% and prevent the risk of death by 80%. In addition, it is known that the effect of lowering the risk of these serious diseases and death is higher than that of healthy people.
Influenza vaccine is vaccinated from October to November every year, and it is recommended that the elderly, immunocompromised, chronically ill, residents of group facilities, pregnant women, and caring for infants under 6 months of age are eligible for vaccination.
Q. What kind of vaccinations should I take before traveling abroad?
Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Typhoid and Cholera vaccinations are recommended when traveling to developing countries. Vaccination once morest tetanus, measles/varicella, and influenza is recommended if not immune. In addition, meningococcal vaccine is recommended when traveling to central African countries or living in groups for a long time, and Japanese encephalitis vaccine is recommended when traveling to areas where Japanese encephalitis is endemic. Rabies vaccination is recommended for travelers from South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. For rabies vaccine, 3 doses (0, 7 days later, 21-28 days later) are recommended.
Help = Director Kang Geun-hee (Internal medicine specialist, one following another)
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