What is the importance of vaccination in preventing infectious diseases in adults?
Vaccination is extremely crucial in reducing morbidity and mortality by protecting billions of people every year from infectious diseases. The key reason the adult population has grown significantly is due to advancements in clean water and updated vaccination. This clearly highlights why vaccination is important.
All vaccines work by preparing the immune system to fight infections even before they occur. This helps reduce the severity of illnesses and minimize complications. Vaccinations can thus improve the overall quality of life while preventing long-term health issues associated with the diseases that can be prevented with vaccines.
While we discuss vaccines, we must also understand how herd immunity works. When a large portion of the population is vaccinated, disease transmission is limited. For instance, if 70 out of 100 individuals in a community are immunized against any infection, the spread of that disease will slow down. This will even protect the individuals who are not vaccinated. Herd Immunity is especially important for vulnerable individuals, including the elderly, infants, and people with weakened immune systems.
How do vaccines work to protect against this infection?
Let us understand what vaccines contain. Every vaccine has weakened, inactivated, or subunit parts of a pathogen, also known as an antigen. This helps trigger your body’s immune response. Once you get exposed to this antigen, your immune system automatically produces antibodies and prepares and trains itself to identify and fight the infection if encountered in the future. We call this ‘adaptive immunity.’
Although the production of antibodies may take a few weeks, once they are formed, they act as your body’s first line of defense. Whenever you are exposed to the same pathogen next, these antibodies help prevent severe infections by reducing multiple complications.
Also, the concept of herd immunity comes into effect here. When a significant portion of the population of a community is vaccinated, the disease can never spread rapidly and easily. This reduces the risk for everyone. This is especially advantageous for people who cannot receive vaccinations due to certain medical conditions.
Which vaccines are recommended for adults?
As individuals start to age, their immune system naturally becomes weaker. This process is called ‘immunosenescence’. This only occurs due to the ‘Hayflick effect’. This causes a gradual decline in T cells—natural killer cells that make the body more susceptible to infections. Hence, to prevent and protect against preventable diseases, the following vaccines are recommended for adults over the age of 50 years of age.
Vaccines Important For Adults
Influenza vaccine – This flu vaccine is recommended annually by all doctors to prevent and protect adults against evolving flu strains and pneumonia.
Pneumococcal vaccine – This is important to prevent the preventable strains of pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and meningitis. We recommend PCV13 and PPSV23 for adults.
Tdap vaccine – This vaccine is recommended to prevent tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough).
Shingles (herpes zoster) vaccine – This vaccine is highly recommended for adults over the age of 50 to reduce the risk of developing shingles.
Vaccines for Important High-Risk Groups
Pertussis vaccine (Tdap booster in high-risk individuals) – It is very important for caregivers, healthcare workers, and those in contact with infants.
COVID-19 vaccine – This is still recommended for all adults, with booster doses as advised.
Hepatitis B vaccine – We highly recommend it for adults at higher risk, such as healthcare workers, diabetics, and individuals with liver disease.
- RSV vaccine – This is only recommended for adults at high risk of severe respiratory infections.
Dr. Avya Bansal
MD DNB FAPSR MNAMS,
Consultant Respiratory Physician,
Bombay Hospital & Medical Research Centre, Mumbai
Lung Care Clinic, Mumbai
Honorary Pulmonologist, Mumbai Police Hospital
