20, Aug 2025
Timely vaccination reduces the risks of contracting an illness by working with your body's natural defenses to build protection and immunity. Your immune system responds when you receive a vaccine.
We now have vaccines to prevent more than 30 different life-threatening diseases and infections, helping people of all ages live longer and healthier. National Immunization Awareness Month is a great time to spread the word about the importance of vaccines. Each year, vaccines are known to protect individuals from getting seriously ill.
There are several recommended vaccines. Vaccinations are recommended for adults, especially those needing boosters or traveling overseas. Some are needed yearly, like the flu vaccine, while others are only needed once, like the chickenpox vaccine.
Vaccines stimulate your immune system. Just like if you were exposed to the disease, the vaccine you receive for specific diseases typically stimulates your immune system to create antibodies that protect you and offer immunity without getting the disease.
Vaccines are thoroughly tested before release. Before releasing any vaccine (except for Emergency Use Authorization vaccines,) lengthy testing is required in thousands of individuals to ensure its safety. Once licensed, vaccines are monitored for adverse reactions, tracked, and reported by every health department nationwide.
Locate your vaccination records to reduce the chances of getting vaccinated twice for the same health concern. Check with your parents for childhood records, high school or college health services, previous employers, public health clinics or your state's health department.
Vaccines may limit the spread of antibiotic resistance. Vaccinating humans and animals is one way to keep them from getting infected by various diseases that require antibiotic treatment. Developing new vaccines is one way scientists are working on antibiotic resistance.
Those who can get a vaccine must do so for those who cannot. Some people with weakened immune systems may be unable to get the vaccine against the disease they may be more prone to catching. However, these individuals can be protected if they live among many who are vaccinated — this is called herd immunity.
Flu season is coming up, so use this month to encourage everyone, especially those in high-risk groups such as pregnant women and the elderly, to get vaccinated to prevent the flu. Flu vaccination can reduce influenza, doctor visits, missed work or school, and flu-related hospitalizations and deaths.
Vaccinations can save lives, prevent severe morbidity, and lower healthcare costs, so take advantage of National Immunization Awareness Month in August and spread the word.
Talk to your primary care physician and discuss your vaccination needs to ensure you are up-to-date on recommended vaccines. Share and promote the importance of immunization. Encourage friends and family to get vaccinated. Support initiatives that promote vaccination and access to healthcare.
Refer to cdc.gov for further information about the recommended immunization schedule.
Dr. Sue Mitra and her staff strive to offer their patients the best care, advice and services available in the medical field with the goal to keep patient healthy & happy.
Dr. Sue Mitra is board certified in international medicine. She is seen here with a Cologuard, which is a noninvasive colon cancer screening test. (Photo by: Tim Shortt/Florida Today)