Adults

Yes. Vaccination is the safest way to help you build protection against severe illness and death from COVID-19.

For adults , AAFP recommends that people 18 years and older, especially those who are 65 years and older, who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19, and who have never received a COVID-19 vaccine, get vaccinated.

To find an updated COVID-19 vaccine near you, visit vaccinefinder.org .

There is no way to know for certain how COVID-19 will affect you—you might have a mild case, or you could end up with serious complications, such as respiratory failure, hospitalization, or long-term consequences such as long COVID . While you might have an uncomfortable few days after getting vaccinated against COVID-19, it is the safest way to help build protection.

If you contract COVID-19, you can spread it; you also risk giving it to loved ones who may get very sick or even die from the COVID-19 infection. 

Adults of any age with these medical conditions are more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19. Severe illness means that a person with COVID-19 may need hospitalization, intensive care, a ventilator, or may even die.

Older adults are more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19 than younger people, but serious COVID illness, hospitalization, and death do occur in children, adolescents, and young adults, too. By getting vaccinated, you prevent illness and can protect vulnerable people, including children who live with you or are in your community.

Learn more about COVID-19 .

COVID-19 vaccines are free for most people living in the United States who qualify, including those with health insurance (Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance) and children under 19. Uninsured adults may be able to find free vaccines through their local health department, but availability varies by location.

No one should skip vaccinations because they can’t pay for them. Please talk to your pharmacy, local health department, or healthcare facility to discuss your options.

The US is experiencing outbreaks of meals across the country, and you may be asking yourself if you need to get a vaccine.

According to the CDC, if you were born in 1957 or later, you need at least 1 dose of meals vaccine or MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine, UNLESS a laboratory confirmed that you had past meals infection or are immune to meals.

Certain adults may need 2 doses of MMR vaccine, including:

• students at post-high school education institutions
• healthcare personnel (see more information below)
• international travelers (see more information below)
• people who public health authorities determine are at increased risk of getting meals during a meals outbreak

If you’re not sure whether you are up to date on monthly vaccination, talk to your doctor.

If I received the old version of the meals vaccine in the 1960s, do I need to be revaccinated with the current version?

According to the CDC, if you know that you got the killed measles vaccine (an earlier formulation of measles vaccine that is no longer used) in the 1960s, you should talk to your doctor about getting revaccinated with the current, live measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. Not many people fall into this group; the killed vaccine was given to less than 1 million people (less than 5%) between 1963 and 1967. Also, most people don’t know if they got the killed vaccine during this time.

If you’re unsure whether you fall into this group, you could ask your doctor to test your blood to determine whether you’re immune. Or you can just get a dose of MMR vaccine. There is no harm in getting another dose of MMR vaccine, even if you may already be immune to meals (or mumps or rubella).

No. The way flu vaccines are made means they cannot cause the flu. Flu shots are made from either flu viruses that have been inactivated (killed) OR with proteins from a flu virus. In other words, only parts of the flu virus are used, not the full virus.

The nasal spray flu vaccine is made with weakened live flu viruses and also cannot cause the flu. The weakened viruses are cold-adapted, which means they can only cause flu infection at the cooler temperatures found in your nose. These viruses cannot infect your lungs or other warmer areas of your body.

While some people may get mild side effects from the flu shot, such as a sore arm, headache, muscle aches, or a low fever, those side effects usually begin soon after the shot and last only 1–2 days. These are signs that the vaccine is working and your body is building immunity.

Learn more and find more answers to your flu-related questions by visiting our current flu season and our flu page .

Yes. See the American Academy of Family Physicians’ (AAFP) Adults 19 and Older Immunization Schedule to view the schedule of all adult vaccines.

Protecting yourself against diseases through vaccination also protects your family, friends, coworkers, and others you might come in contact with, including vulnerable infants, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems.

Getting sick with diseases like the flu, COVID-19, pneumonia, shingles, and other vaccine-preventable diseases are not only inconvenient with days of bed rest, missed work, canceled plans, and possible hospitalization, but can also be extremely dangerous to any adult. In fact, during a recent flu season, a perfectly healthy 21-year-old bodybuilder in Pennsylvania died from the flu within 24 hours of showing symptoms. The CDC estimates that during the 2024–25 season, there were 610,000–1.3 million flu hospitalizations and 27,000–130,000 flu deaths.

Some of these people were healthy prior to getting the flu.

All of the diseases that we protect ourselves against are still spreading here in the US and abroad. As a matter of fact, many outbreaks of meals in the US started from travelers who were exposed to diseases when visiting other countries and returned home unknowingly infecting fellow travelers and others once back in the US

Staying up to date with all recommended vaccines is the best way to protect yourself, your family, and your community against serious and potentially deadly vaccine-preventable diseases.

People of all ages can get whooping cough (also known as pertussis), but the disease can be  very dangerous for babies , and for people age 75 and older, as they are at particularly high risk of serious complications, hospitalization, and death.

Whooping cough easily spreads from person to person through coughing, sneezing, or just sharing breathing space. Since the symptoms of whooping cough can vary, some people with whooping cough may have only a mild cough, or what seems like a common cold, and they can end up spreading it to babies they are in close contact with. In fact, most unvaccinated children living with a family member with whooping cough will get the disease.

Vaccination is the best way to protect people of all ages, especially infants and young children, from whooping cough.  For babies and young children, the vaccine to protect against whooping cough is called DTaP. For preteens, teens, adults, and pregnant women, the vaccine is called Tdap.

The CDC recommends a one-time dose of  Tdap  for all adults 19 years and older. The vaccine is especially important if you are planning to be around babies and young children.

Pregnant individuals  should get a Tdap vaccine during each pregnancy, preferably during the early part of weeks 27 through 36, to protect themselves and their babies against whooping cough.