Rural Health, Inc. Encourages Adults to Stay Up to Date on Vaccinations During National Immunization Awareness Month

(Southern Illinois) – August is National Immunization Awareness Month. As many families are scheduling their child’s vaccinations appointment for school, Rural Health, Inc. encourages adults to schedule their own vaccination appointment to ensure they too are up-to-date on their own vaccines.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults not only be vaccinated against seasonal illness, but depending on one’s age, travel, life events such as pregnancy, and employment, they should also be vaccinated against what are often considered childhood vaccines. These can include Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough), Chickenpox (Varicella), Hepatitis B, Meningococcal, and MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella).

 “Outside of annual vaccines such as flu, COVID-19, and RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), adults generally consider other vaccinations to be a “kid” thing, not realizing that they are also susceptible to infection as easily as children,” said Shawnna Rhine, RHI Director of Public Relations. “The difference is that because of underlying health conditions, age, and other risk factors, adults are more likely to suffer a serious illness without vaccination.”

While vaccination is not an option for some people in preventing illness, Rural Health, Inc. encourages everyone to talk with their healthcare provider about vaccination protection. “It’s easy to get caught up in all the information we read and hear about vaccines,” said Rhine. “Your provider is a trusted source and will help you decide if vaccination is right for you based on your individual health needs. Never hesitate to have this conversation.”

The CDC offers the following facts and information about vaccines:

• Vaccines have reduced diseases and saved lives for over 100 years, but serious disease is still a threat. People all over the world, including in the U.S., still become seriously ill or even die from diseases that vaccines can help prevent.
• Vaccines protect you and also avoid spreading preventable diseases to other people in your community who aren’t vaccinated.
• Some vaccine-preventable diseases can have serious complications. For them, vaccination provides protection not only against the disease itself but also against the dangerous complications or consequences that it can bring such as hospitalization, long-term illness such as cancer, and death.
• Vaccine safety is a high priority. CDC and other experts carefully review safety data before recommending any vaccine, then continually monitor vaccine safety after approval.
• Most people experience only mild side effects after a vaccination. These reactions usually go away on their own within a few days. Serious or long-lasting side effects are extremely rare.

To learn more about vaccine safety, or to schedule a vaccination appointment, call Rural Health, Inc. at 618-833-4471 or visit ruralhealthinc.org for a health center near you.

Rural Health, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization designated by the federal government as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) with locations in Johnson, Massac, and Union counties in Illinois providing quality medical, dental, mental health, and pharmacy services to all patients in need of healthcare while being committed to the overall health and well-being of the underserved. Medicaid, Medicare, and most insurance carriers are accepted.

###

Follow Rural Health Inc. on Facebook, YouTube, and at ruralhealthinc.org