Routinely seeing your primary care provider is essential to not miss out on an important health milestone. Without regular appointments, your vaccines might be lapsed. It doesn’t matter what has stopped you from getting vaccinated, give your provider a call and ask! They will be happy to walk you through what’s missing from your immunization records or what needs to be updated.
Don’t forget to stay up-to-date on your other necessary vaccines for yourself and your school-aged children. A few common vaccines are listed below, but if you’re questioning your need for a specific vaccine, contact your primary care provider.
Meningitis. While anyone can get meningitis, the CDC found that most cases were found in teens and young adults between the ages of 18 to 20. The effects of meningitis can be severe, with up to 1 in 5 survivors experiencing long-term consequences, including hearing loss, skin scarring, neurological problems, or limb loss. While the effects can be scary, the first step to protecting your children or yourself is to have both meningitis vaccines. When planning your back-to-school activities, like supply shopping and sports physicals, add getting the meningitis vaccine to your list. Meningitis continues to be a major global public health issue causing up to 5 million cases each year, including epidemics of new strains that spread between countries and across the world.
Flu. The most significant benefit of getting the seasonal flu shot is reducing the severity of symptoms and the risk of hospitalization. According to the CDC, influenza vaccines prevent millions of illnesses and flu-related doctor visits every year. It’s been reported that the flu vaccine has reduced the number of doctor visits with severe conditions by 40-60%. That is a huge factor for both you, your healthcare spending, and the hospitals treating people with the flu. It is still possible to get the flu after getting the flu vaccine, but your severity is likely to be much lower. Despite the many benefits of the flu vaccination, only about half of Americans get an annual flu vaccine.
Tetanus. Suppose you’re not up to date on your tetanus shot or don’t know when the last time you got it. If that is the case, it’s highly recommended to check in with your provider, especially if you work in farming, construction, landscaping, or anything similar where you are at a higher risk of contracting tetanus. You typically only need to get the tetanus vaccine every ten years, so it’s easy to forget when you last got your dose. That’s why it’s essential to meet regularly with your provider so they can review your immunization records with you. Today, tetanus is uncommon in the United States, with an average of 30 reported cases each year. Nearly all cases of tetanus today are in people who never got a tetanus vaccine, did not receive a complete course of tetanus vaccines or adults who didn’t stay up to date on their 10-year booster shots.
Vaccines are an essential part of overall well-being, strengthening the immune system’s response to lower the effect of serious diseases and complications that come with it. If you’ve been putting off care and don’t know how much time has passed since your last vaccine, or maybe you’re questioning your need for a specific vaccine, or don’t know if you’re behind on your immunizations, give your primary care provider at Southwest Health a call! They can help you take the first step towards getting back to better health. Recommendations and needs vary by age, from well-child vaccines for children, meningitis vaccines for college students, or the shingles vaccine for adults over fifty. Your provider will have specific recommendations for you.
Southwest Health is hosting a flu and COVID vaccine clinic for family medicine patients at the Platteville, Cuba City, and Kieler Clinic. COVID vaccines are available for patients 12 years and older in Kieler and Cuba City and for patients 6 months and older in the Platteville Clinic. To schedule your flu shot or COVID booster, please call Family Medicine at Southwest Health at 608.348.4330.
Southwest Health is creating a healthier southwest Wisconsin, which includes protecting our community by encouraging everyone who can get vaccinated to do so.
