Did you know that vaccines are the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones from certain preventable diseases? Vaccines help your body create protective antibodies – proteins that help it fight off infections.

August is National Immunization Awareness Month. It's a good time to learn more about vaccines and make sure your family’s immunizations are up to date, particularly as many seasonal respiratory viruses become more prevalent in fall and winter.

Vaccine Basics

The first vaccine was developed in 1796 by a British doctor, Edward Jenner. The word vaccine comes from a Latin word relating to cows. That's because the first vaccine was based on cowpox, a mild disease of cattle and people, but it also protected against the much more deadly smallpox virus.

Before vaccines, the only way to become immune to a disease was to actually get it and survive it. Vaccines provide an easier and less risky way to become immune. A vaccine trains the immune system by appearing like a natural infection.

Before a new vaccine is ever given to people, extensive lab testing is done. Once testing in people begins, it can take years before clinical studies are complete and the vaccine is licensed.

After a vaccine is licensed, the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies continue routine monitoring and investigate any potential safety concerns.

Vaccines, like medicine, can have some side effects. But most people who get vaccinated have only mild side effects or none at all. The most common side effects include fever, tiredness, body aches and redness, swelling and tenderness where the shot was given. Mild reactions usually go away on their own within a few days. Serious, long-lasting side effects are extremely rare.

Vaccine Timing

Vaccines can help protect people from serious infectious diseases throughout an entire lifespan – from infancy to early adulthood and into old age. To help you understand which diseases to be vaccinated for and when, the CDC publishes vaccine schedules for people of all ages.

A vaccine schedule – also called an immunization schedule – lists which vaccines are recommended for different groups of people. It includes who should get the vaccines, how many doses they need and when they should get them.

Both children and adults should get their vaccines according to the schedule. Following the schedule allows people to get protection from each of the diseases at exactly the right time. Here are links to CDC vaccine schedules:

• Recommended immunizations for birth through age 6
• Recommended immunizations for ages 7 through 18
• Recommended vaccines for adults

See your healthcare provider to discuss immunizations for you and your family. Your healthcare provider can also answer your questions about vaccines.

If you are looking for a primary care provider, Aultman Medical Group Primary Care has dozens of physicians and providers across the region, in your community, who are accepting new patients. Visit aultman.org/NewDoc or call our new patient hotline at 330-433-1264.

Sources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The StayWell Company, LLC
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services