Many health care professionals do not get vaccinated, even though they care for people at higher risk for disease complications.

Getting vaccinated will help you protect yourself, your family and your patients.

• Approximately 50,000 adults die each year from vaccine preventable diseases.
• Adults are 100 times more likely to die from vaccine preventable diseases than children.
• Adults are 25 times more likely to die from varicella than children.
• Each year 40,000 people die from flu and pneumonia; 90 percent of them are over 65 years of age.
• There are 51,000 new cases of hepatitis B a year; 95 percent of new cases are adults.
• Measles during pregnancy increases risk of premature labor, spontaneous abortion and low birth weight babies.
• There is an 85 percent chance of fetal damage if a pregnant woman develops rubella during the first trimester.
• The cost of treating adults for vaccine preventable diseases exceeds 10 billion a year excluding the cost of life.

Recommended Vaccines for Health Care Professionals

Influenza— Annual flu shots are recommended as you can spread the flu without ever having symptoms.

Hepatitis B — Hepatitis B vaccine is recommend if you’re at risk of exposure to blood or body fluid.

Tetanus-Diphtheria (Td) or Tetanus-Diphtheria–Pertussis (Tdap) — Vaccination is recommended every 10 years. However, vaccination is recommended if it has been over 5 years since your last vaccination and you’ve recently been exposed. Replace one dose of Td vaccine with one dose of Tdap vaccine.

Measles–Mumps–Rubella (MMR) — Two doses of MMR are recommended one month or more apart. Vaccination not necessary with documented proof of immunity.

Varicella (chickenpox) — Two doses of varicella are recommended one month or more apart. Vaccination not necessary with documented proof of immunity.