Flu Vaccine
US public health authorities recommend everyone get an influenza vaccine every year. The virus changes so there is a new vaccine every year. The vaccine doesn’t guarantee you won’t get the flu, but it lowers your chances, and often means that if you do get the flu, the severity will be reduced. The flu is more dangerous for old people. More than 90 percent of Americans who die from this disease are over 65. It used to be that authorities really only recommended the flu shot for old people or others at particular risk, but now they say that all adults and most children should get it. Oth
er vaccines old people need some immunizations that younger people do not need.
Zoster (shingles) - particularly recommended for elderly people, although sometimes middle-aged people take it. There are two different vaccines on the market in the US.
Pneumococcal vaccine - actually a series of two shots. PCV13 and PPSV23 with a gap of at least a year in between.
Like all adults, the elderly should get the tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap or Td) with a booster shot every 10 years.
The CDC schedule for recommended vaccines for adults is at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/adult.html
