Taking precautions to boost immunity is vital to preventing both bacterial and viral infections and to maintaining your overall health in both the short and long term. In this blog post, we will discuss the recommended vaccines for adults, as well as numerous other steps you can take in your everyday life to boost immunity.
Immunity & immunization: How does it work?
Before learning how to boost immunity, it’s helpful to understand what exactly immunity is and how your body can achieve it. Immunity refers to a person’s protection from an infectious disease. When immune, a person will not become infected even when exposed to the disease.
Immunization vs. Vaccination
Immunization and vaccination are often used interchangeably, but these terms aren’t quite the same.- Immunization refers to the process of becoming immune to an infectious disease (either through natural exposure or vaccination).
- Vaccination is one means of immunization; a vaccine is a biological preparation that is administered to stimulate the body’s immune response and develop immunity to a particular disease.
How does immunization work?
When germs, or antigens, enter the body, they multiply and attack, causing an infection. The body fights this infection with white blood cells—comprising Macrophages, B-lymphocytes, and T-lymphocytes—which produce antigen-fighting antibodies.How does a vaccine help to prevent disease?
The first time the body encounters a particular antigen, it takes a while for it to build up its immune response, but as it does so, it stores memories of the process. So, next time the body encounters that antigen, it recognizes it and readily produces the antibody to fight it.Vaccines work by initiating this antibody production. By imitating a particular infection, the vaccine safely teaches the body how to respond to that antigen so that when encountered again, it can recognize and immediately produce the antibodies to prevent—and if not entirely prevent, to more effectively fight off—the infection.
Why do adults need vaccinations?
Vaccines have significantly reduced the number of infectious-disease-related deaths, but still, these diseases remain a major threat; and in fact, it’s estimated that 51 million deaths can be prevented through the vaccines administered between 2021 and 2030.
While there are several vaccines that are commonly administered during childhood, numerous vaccines are important for adults throughout their lives. Additionally, some vaccines are required for public safety at school, during travel, and for health care workers and residents of rehabilitation or care centers.
What is the importance of vaccinations in public health?
Vaccines protect you and others from acquiring infectious diseases. By stimulating the growth of antibodies and proteins, vaccines help to keep you safe from infection, and in doing so, they help prevent the spread of infection to others.
There are some people who cannot safely receive vaccines, such as people who are too young or too old, who have a weakened immune system, or who have other serious health conditions; and when you protect yourself, you help to protect these more vulnerable populations as well.
What are the pros and cons of vaccines?
In addition to being the most effective way to boost immunity against infectious diseases, vaccines:
- Prevent serious disease-related threats. Even when infection does occur, vaccines can help you prevent the serious complications associated with infectious diseases, such as flu-related heart attacks, liver damage caused by hepatitis B, or cervical cancer from HPV.
- Are very safe. Vaccines are continuously researched, monitored, and reviewed to ensure advancing effectiveness and optimal safety.
While they are safe—in fact, the U.S. vaccine supply is the safest it has ever been—vaccines can have side effects:
- Most people only experience mild side effects (if any), and typically, they fade after a few days. The most common side effects include:
- Fever
- Tiredness
- Body aches
- Redness, swelling, and tenderness at the injection site
- Though possible, serious allergic reactions and long-lasting side effects are extremely rare.
What are the recommended core vaccines for adults?
Influenza Vaccine
The CDC recommends the flu vaccine every year after 6 months of age.
What does the vaccine prevent and how does it boost immunity?
The flu vaccine prevents influenza by creating immunity to the flu virus. The majority of flu vaccines are inactivated and are produced by growing the virus in eggs, killing it, and breaking it up into pieces that stimulate an immune response. Researchers determine which strains of the flu virus are likely to occur during the upcoming season, and the vaccine is designed accordingly.
What are the reasons to get vaccinated?
Influenza, commonly called the flu, affects millions of Americans each year. Hundreds of thousands are hospitalized, and tens of thousands die from it. Serious problems can result from the flu, especially for pregnant women, young children, people over 65 or people with chronic conditions like:
- Diabetes
- Asthma
- Heart disease
Getting your influenza vaccine helps you prevent these risks for yourself and others.
Shingles Vaccine
The CDC recommends the shingles vaccine for adults over 50 years and adults over 19 years who have weakened immune systems.
What does the vaccine prevent and how does it boost immunity?
The Shingrix vaccine is highly effective in preventing shingles and the persisting complications, like postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), for at least 7 years after vaccination. This nonlive, subunit vaccine works by helping the body develop a strong defense against the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. Shingrix can also be given to those who have previously had shingles to help prevent future occurrences.
What are the reasons to get vaccinated?
An estimated 1 million people in the United States get shingles each year, and the risk of getting it increases with age, which is why it is recommended for older adults. For adults who are otherwise fairly healthy, shingles is typically not life threatening, though when left untreated, it can cause more major complications; and for people with compromised immune systems, these complications can be serious or life-threatening. Shingrix provides strong protection against shingles: it is more than 90% effective at preventing shingles and PHN in adults over 50 years, and 68–91% effective in immunocompromised adults (depending on the immune system condition).
Tdap Vaccine
Tdap is recommended every 10 years for adults, whether or not they’ve previously received it as a child or teen.
What does the vaccine prevent and how does it boost immunity?
The Tdap vaccine provides protection against three diseases: tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (commonly called whooping cough). The vaccine contains a combination of toxoid and subunit vaccine types, which help the body create immunity by helping the immune system recognize and respond to the bacteria if encountered in the future. By combining these components, the Tdap vaccine can provide strong and long-lasting immunity against all three diseases.
What are the reasons to get vaccinated?
Tetanus, also called lockjaw, can enter the body through wounds and cause muscle stiffness, difficulty swallowing, and seizures. Diphtheria spreads through respiratory droplets and can cause breathing difficulties, heart failure, and death. Pertussis is highly contagious and can lead to severe coughing fits, difficulty breathing, and complications such as pneumonia, seizures, and death—particularly in young children. Getting vaccinated is essential in preventing these diseases, their complications, and their spread.
Pneumococcal Vaccines
The CDC recommends pneumococcal vaccination for adults over 65 years and adults aged 19–64 with certain medical conditions.
What does the vaccine prevent and how does it boost immunity?
Pneumococcal vaccines prevent infections caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, a bacterium that can cause pneumonia, meningitis, and other serious diseases. These subunit vaccines contain pieces of the bacteria that stimulate the immune system to produce bacteria-fighting antibodies. This helps to boost immunity and prevent future infections.
What are the reasons to get vaccinated?
Pneumococcal disease is a leading cause of vaccine-preventable deaths, killing thousands of adults in the United States each year. Getting vaccinated can greatly reduce your risk of getting pneumococcal disease and its complications (which can include long-term health problems and even death), as well as help prevent the spread of the bacteria in the community. This review shows that pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have helped to prevent approximately 280,000 cases of invasive pneumococcal disease in children.
COVID-19
The CDC recommends that adults stay up to date according to the specific vaccine series they started.
What does the vaccine prevent and how does it boost immunity?
There are three types of COVID-19 vaccines which help prevent the SARS-CoV-2 virus by teaching the body to recognize and produce antibodies against it:
- mRNA vaccines which use genetic codes to form proteins unique to the virus
- Subunit vaccines which use a harmless piece of the virus (protein subunit) as well as adjuvants to further strengthen the body’s immune response
- Viral vector vaccines which use a harmless modification of another virus
These vaccines boost immunity by teaching the body’s immune system to recognize and fight the virus without causing the disease. As a result, individuals who receive the COVID-19 vaccine are less likely to become severely ill, hospitalized, or die from COVID-19, as well as less likely to spread the virus to others.
What are the reasons to get vaccinated?
COVID-19 is a highly contagious respiratory illness that can cause severe illness, hospitalization, and death, particularly in older and immunocompromised adults. It is important to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect yourself and others, as the vaccine is highly effective in preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19. As with other vaccine-preventable diseases, you are protected best from COVID-19 when you stay up to date with recommended boosters.
Additional vaccines recommended for some adults include:
- The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is recommended for any adult through age 26 who did not start or finish the vaccine series when younger.
- The varicella (chickenpox) vaccine is recommended for adults who have never had chickenpox and were never vaccinated.
- The hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for all adults aged 19–59 years and adults over 60 years with risk factors for hepatitis B.
There are some people who should not get certain vaccines because of their age or other health conditions, and there are others who may need additional vaccines due to heightened exposure or increased vulnerability. Not sure what vaccines you should get? Talk to a Thomas Seashore pharmacist.
What lifestyle factors can help boost immune function?
While vaccines are the best way to protect against preventable diseases, there are several other steps you can take to boost immunity and stay healthy in the presence of disease.
Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant supplements
Inflammation plays a major role in the development of many diseases and health conditions, including a suppressed immune system. By incorporating supplements and antioxidants with anti-inflammatory properties, you can help your immune system protect against infection.
- Vitamin C and D are two of the most highly researched antioxidants and have been shown to protect and promote the production of white blood cells.
- Melatonin also aids your immune response by supporting the functions of T- and B-lymphocytes, granulocytes, and monocytes. Plus, it helps ensure full, undisturbed sleep which is also crucial to your immune system.
A healthy diet
One of the best ways to manage inflammation is by maintaining a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet that includes:
- vegetables,
- proteins, and
- unsaturated fats;
and that limits:
- sugars,
- refined carbohydrates, and
- Alcohol.
Regular exercise
In addition to a healthy diet, regular exercise can help you get good sleep, destress, and maintain a healthy weight, all of which is vital to a strong immune system. Plus, emerging studies show that exercise may even boost immunity directly.
Stress Management
Stress releases hormones that suppress the function of the immune system, thereby decreasing its ability to fight infections. By finding ways to limit your daily stress, you can benefit your immune function and boost immunity. Some common ways to destress include:
- Routine breathing techniques
- Tai Chi
- Yoga
- Mindfulness or meditation
Sleep
Not only is sleep an important factor in managing stress, but it is a major player in boosting immunity itself. Sleep supports many immune functions and has even been shown to improve the effectiveness of vaccines.
Infectious diseases can not be prevented entirely, but between staying up to date on all recommended vaccines and practicing some simple habits to boost immunity, you can significantly lower your risk of infection and lead a healthier life.
Take the first step toward a safer, healthier year by scheduling your upcoming vaccines with Thomas Seashore Drugs: find the location nearest you on our website!
