Do You Know Your Vaccine History?

For older adults, the CDC recommends:

• flu shot, either influenza inactivated (IIV4) or influenza recombinant (RIV4), annually
• Tdap booster shot every 10 years
• zoster vaccine against shingles after you turn 50
• pneumococcal vaccine against the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae after you turn 65
• COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters as they develop

Since the pandemic began, most state health departments have collected COVID-19 vaccination records. Individuals can often request those personal records online or through an app. These programs are relatively new, so they won’t likely have collected information on other immunizations. If you’ve lost your COVID-19 card, this AARP article tells you what to do.

Childhood immunizations

Chances are that you were vaccinated as a child for a range of diseases. Most states have long-standing mandates for these childhood vaccines:

• Polio. The vaccine protects against poliomyelitis, a disabling and life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus.
• Varicella. A vaccine against chickenpox.
• DTP, DTap or DT. A combination vaccine that protects against diphtheria, tetanus (lockjaw) and whooping cough (also known as pertussis).
• MMR. A combination vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella.

The CDC estimates that at least 93 percent of U.S. kindergartners had received these vaccines for the 2020–21 school year. There are medical exemptions and, in some cases, religious or personal belief exemptions. 

Since the late 1990s, most schoolchildren have also been required to receive an HBV or HepB vaccination that protects against hepatitis B.

Polio reemerges

No cases of polio had originated in the United States since 1979 until this July, when a 20-year-old man from Rockland County, New York, was diagnosed with the disabling and potentially deadly disease, according to the CDC. The virus has since been found in wastewater in New York City and several neighboring counties, raising concerns the disease could again spread among unvaccinated people.

If you are worried about polio and uncertain of your vaccination status, the CDC says it’s safe to go ahead and get the shots now but suggests you consult your doctor, who may recommend antibody tests to determine whether you’ve been vaccinated already.

Monkeypox

U.S. health officials have declared the current outbreak of monkeypox a public health emergency. They are also working to meet a growing demand for smallpox vaccines that also protect against this disease.

Routine smallpox vaccination stopped in the U.S. in 1972 after the disease was eradicated, but many older adults remember receiving a shot. It’s unclear how well a vaccine given so long ago protects you today, says Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. For example, The Lancet recently reported that a share of people who were vaccinated for smallpox when they were children went on to develop monkeypox.

People who are most likely to get monkeypox should get the vaccine, the CDC says, though this advice could change as supplies increase. And even though anyone can get monkeypox, the vast majority of individuals who are getting infected now are men who are having sex with men and with multiple partners in areas where the virus is spreading, health experts say.

Risks are much lower for people in monogamous relationships.

Military vaccinations

Gulf War veterans may have also been vaccinated against smallpox before deployment. From Dec. 13, 2002, through May 28, 2003, a total of 450,293 military personnel were vaccinated against smallpox as part of a national program of preparedness against biological attack, according to a study published in JAMA.

Gulf War veterans may also have been vaccinated against the following diseases: anthrax, botulism, yellow fever, typhoid, cholera, hepatitis B, meningitis, whooping cough, polio and tetanus.

Veterans can request their military medical records through the Tricare system.