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Widely considered one of the greatest success stories in the history of medicine, vaccinations have helped millions of people avoid contracting potentially deadly diseases. According to Robert Colgrove, M.D., Attending Physician in the Department of Infectious Diseases at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, vaccinations can positively impact people both young and old.

Childhood vaccines
Most children receive the vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella. “Although the number of cases of measles, mumps and rubella has been reduced in this country, the diseases are still quite prevalent in the rest of the world,” says Dr. Colgrove. “People come here from all over the world so the vaccine is important for preventing a breakout of these extremely contagious illnesses.”

Another common childhood vaccine is for chicken pox. “It’s really been just over the past decade that chicken pox has gone from being an almost universal disease of childhood to something that is increasingly rare, but there is still plenty of cases of chicken pox out there,” says Dr. Colgrove.

Some vaccines are designed to be given to children for diseases they could contract as adults. Two examples are the Hepatitis B vaccine and the Human Papillomavirus vaccine. “Our strategy is to get people vaccinated as children because that is when they are more likely to visit a physician’s office,” says Dr. Colgrove. “By the time people are adolescents and adults, it is harder to get them back for a vaccination.”

Adult vaccines
For adults, the single most important vaccine for preventing disease is the influenza vaccination. “Each year, a substantial fraction of the population gets the flu,” says Dr. Colgrove. “People who are old or frail are especially at risk and can get quite sick or even have a lethal infection. It is important that people who are at risk get vaccinated yearly.” Vaccination is also important for healthy people, such as family and caregivers who are in close contact with those at risk of severe illness.

Another important vaccine for adults is the pneumococcal vaccination, which is used to prevent bacterial pneumonia. “The pneumococcal vaccine is recommended for anyone over age 65 and also anyone with a medical condition that would put them at risk for having a more serious infection,” says Dr. Colgrove. “Revaccination is recommended for anyone over age 65 who received the vaccine more than five years earlier for other reasons.”

Shingles is caused by a reactivation of the varicella virus (same virus that causes chicken pox) within the body, which can cause a painful rash. But, a new vaccine can help prevent the condition from occurring. “This is a disease that increases in frequency with age and can be quite unpleasant, painful and difficult to treat,” says Dr. Colgrove. “The shingles vaccine is now recommended as a universal vaccination for people who are over the age of 60.”

Meningitis vaccine can help all age groups

A newer vaccine, available for adolescents and adults, is the meningitis vaccine. “Nobody in the United States is at a particularly high risk for contracting meningitis, but places where people have an increased risk are those where many people are bunched together in close quarters,” says Dr. Colgrove. “The recommendation now is that people who are going to college and plan to live in dorms get vaccinated. This will most likely be a pediatric vaccine in the future but for now we’re mostly dealing with the college population.” This vaccine is also very important for people traveling to parts of the world where meningococcal disease is much more common.

Despite the health benefits vaccines can offer, some people remain cautious about getting vaccinated. “There is a lot of misinformation out there about the risks and benefits of vaccines and this can have really tragic consequences,” says Dr. Colgrove. “Vaccinations are very important and one of the most significant areas we can show that modern medicine has made a difference in the health of the population. People should be sure to get their information about vaccines from a trusted source.”

For a free Mount Auburn Hospital physician directory, please call us at 617-499-5094.