Doctors recommend all adults get these vaccines
From shingles to pneumonia, there are plenty of vaccines offered to adults -- but should everyone get them?
Posted — Updated"A lot of the diseases that we can prevent or make less likely with vaccines are ones that can be more serious in older adults," said Lauren Friedman, a health editor with Consumer Reports.
For that reason, doctors recommend several vaccines for all adults, including an annual flu shot, a Tdap (which protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) and a Td booster vaccine every 10 years to protect against tetanus and diphtheria.
At age 50, doctors recommend a shingles vaccine, and at 65, they recommend one for pneumonia.
Doctors encourage younger adults to get the HPV vaccine, which protects against Human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cancer in women and men.
"For a lot of adults today, the HPV vaccine wasn't even available when you were a teenager," Friedman said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the HPV vaccine for women through age 26 and men through age 21 -- although the FDA approved the vaccine up to the age of 45.
Consumer Reports said some shots might cause a sore arm or even a slight fever -- but if you get sick after being vaccinated, it's probably just a coincidence.
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