Immunization is an important part of modern healthcare for all people. According to the current immunization schedule recommended by the CDC for adults, there are 13 vaccines that people should receive over the course of their life (Adult Immunization Schedule, 2022). The first is either Influenza inactivated or Influenza recombinant, which should be taken once each year. The second one is for tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis, the shot against which should be taken every ten years. The third vaccination targets measles, mumps, and rubella, which should be done once or twice. The next one is Varicella, which should be taken twice before the midlife and twice after.
All subsequent vaccines have similar requirements to the previous four. The fifth vaccine is Zoster recombinant, which should also be applied in 2 doses before the age of fifty and two doses after. The next one is Human papillomavirus, which is done in 2 or three doses before the age of 27. The seventh vaccine is Pneumococcal, which should be taken once before the age of 65 and once after. The eight one is Hepatitis A, which is administered 2 or three times. The ninth one is Hepatitis B, which can be administered up to four times before the age of fifty. The tenth one is Meningococcal A, C, W, Y, which is taken in one or two doses. The eleventh one is Meningococcal B, which is administered in three doses. The twelfth one is Haemophilus influenzae type, which is taken in 1 or three doses over the course of life. The final vaccine is against COVID-19, which is recommended for every person older than 6 years.
These recommendations are given to healthy people, whose physical state is not compromised. However, people that do have complications with their immune system require different approaches. Each vaccination is unique, with some of them even being acceptable for immunocompromised individuals or patients on low-level immunosuppressive therapy (Whitaker, 2020). In most cases, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends against vaccinating a patient, especially with such vaccines against measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (Whitaker, 2020). However, it is also recommended to improve immunogenicity via various strategies aimed at optimizing immune response.
Age is the most important factor in determining what immunization should be administered. Patients aged 11-24 do not have risk factors for hypertension, while older groups do (Dirty Medicine, 2019, 5:38). A person younger than 24 years would be recommended all of the CDC’s immunizations. An adult aged 25-64 years would not be recommended the human papillomavirus and influenza live attenuated vaccines. People older than 65 years are not recommended to vaccinate against measles, mumps, rubella (Adult Immunization Schedule, 2022). Gender is also important since several vaccines are contraindicated during pregnancy: LAIV4, MMR, VAR, and HPV (Adult Immunization Schedule, 2022; IDPodcasts, 2020, 4:00). The recommendations are similar to immunocompromised individuals with the exception that HPV can be administered. If such a person is vaccinated, their organism will receive a virus that it will not be able to fight of, thus creating a greater risk for their life.
The current recommendations emphasize the importance of age, pregnancy, and patients’ medical conditions. Advanced practice nurses are encouraged to raise patient’s awareness of their own health. There is a number of medical conditions that may increase health risks of immunizations. Some of them would affect the outcome, even if they transpired in the past (Adult Immunization Schedule, 2022). Therefore, it becomes essential for patients to be able to understand the applicability of a certain vaccine to their health, while relying on the nurses’ medical advice to make the final decision.
References
Adult Immunization Schedule (2022). Web.
Dirty Medicine. (2019). USPSTF Screening Recommendations [Video]. YouTube. Web.
IDPodcasts. (2020). Current immunization practice: The role of adult vaccination — John Toney, MD [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Whitaker, J. A. (2020). Immunization strategies to span the spectrum of immunocompromised adults. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 95(7), 1530-1548. Web.