The routine list
Childhood shots do not last a lifetime. For a healthy adult under forty, the standing list is short.
- Get a tetanus and diphtheria booster every ten years. One of those doses should be the Tdap version, which adds whooping cough, and it is given again during each pregnancy.
- Get a flu shot every fall, ideally in September or October.
- Get the HPV series if you have not had it. It is recommended through age 26, and from 27 to 45 it is a decision to make with your doctor.
- Get the hepatitis B series if you never received it as a child.
- Confirm two doses of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine if you are a student, work in health care or travel abroad.
Recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines have changed from season to season, so check the current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or ask your pharmacist.
Situations that add to it
A deep or dirty wound calls for a tetanus booster if your last one was more than five years ago. First-year college students living in residence halls need the meningococcal vaccine if they were not vaccinated at 16 or later. Pregnancy, asthma, diabetes and a weakened immune system each add specific vaccines, which your doctor will know. For international travel, see a travel clinic or your doctor four to six weeks before departure, because some series need several doses and yellow fever vaccine is given only at registered sites.
Finding your records
Start with your parents, your pediatrician's office, and any school, college or employer that required proof. Every state also runs an immunization registry, and your doctor, your pharmacist or the state health department can retrieve what it holds. When the paper trail runs out, a blood test can confirm immunity to measles, chickenpox and hepatitis B. Repeating a vaccine you may already have had is generally safe and is often simpler than the search.
Cost and what to expect
Most health plans cover recommended vaccines with no copay at in-network providers, and pharmacies give most of them without an appointment. A sore arm, tiredness or a mild fever for a day or two is a normal immune response. Severe allergic reactions are rare and usually occur within minutes, which is why you are asked to wait fifteen minutes before leaving.
Tip Photograph every vaccine receipt or card the day you get it and keep the pictures in one album on your phone. That album is the record you will be asked for.
