Vaccines for adults

What is it?

The World Health Organization defines vaccination as a simple, safe and effective way of protecting you from harmful diseases before you are exposed to them, as it uses your body's natural defences to build resistance to specific infections.

MedlinePlus describes vaccines as shots, liquids, pills or nasal sprays that train the immune system to recognise and defend against harmful germs, whether viruses (such as flu and COVID-19) or bacteria (such as tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough).

How do they protect? When you get the vaccine the immune system responds, then "remembers" the germ, and this memory protects you from the disease it causes. The World Health Organization states that after exposure to one or more doses of a vaccine we are usually protected from the disease for years, decades or life.

Vaccine ingredients according to the World Health Organization: antigens (a killed or weakened form of the virus or bacteria that trains the body to recognise the germ), adjuvants that boost the immune response (such as aluminium salts), preservatives (such as thiomersal), and stabilisers that protect the vaccine during storage and transport (such as sugar and gelatin). The organisation stresses that these ingredients and the vaccines themselves have undergone comprehensive testing and are monitored to ensure their safety.

Types of vaccines as MedlinePlus lists them: live attenuated vaccines, inactivated vaccines (killed germ), vaccines that use specific parts of the germ (subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide and conjugate), toxoid vaccines, mRNA vaccines, and viral vector vaccines.

Immunisation is the process of gaining protection from a disease, and is often used to mean vaccination, i.e. receiving a vaccine (MedlinePlus).

Why it matters

According to the World Health Organization: without vaccines we are exposed to serious illness and disability from diseases such as measles, meningitis, pneumonia, tetanus and polio, many of which can be life-threatening. Vaccination aims to protect ourselves and those around us.

The organisation states that not everyone can be vaccinated, including very young infants, people who are severely ill and people with certain allergies, and they depend on others being vaccinated to stay safe from the diseases that vaccines protect against. MedlinePlus calls this "community immunity".

MedlinePlus says that gaining immunity from a vaccine is safer than gaining it by catching the disease.

Why do adults need vaccines? According to the CDC: the protection some vaccines give may fade over time and booster doses may be needed, vaccines are the best way to protect against certain preventable diseases, and some vaccines are required for study, work or travel.

The CDC states that the flu vaccine also protects against flu-related pneumonia and related heart attacks and strokes, and that these complications are especially serious for people with diabetes and chronic heart or lung disease.

The CDC describes hepatitis B as a serious, potentially fatal infection of the liver, and that vaccination protects against the chronic liver damage and cancer it can cause. It states that the HPV virus is a major cause of cervical cancer and can cause other cancers in women and men.

The CDC says vaccination is one of the safest ways to protect your health, and that vaccines help prevent serious diseases that can cause declining health, missed work, treatment costs and inability to care for the family.

Key points

These are US recommendations as the CDC lists them, not a schedule for your country. Schedules differ between countries, and the decision is for your doctor and the health authority in your country.

Routine vaccines for all adults according to the CDC adult vaccines page: the flu vaccine, the Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough) or Td (tetanus and diphtheria) vaccine, and the COVID-19 vaccine, making sure you are up to date on them.

COVID-19: the CDC's page on it (updated on 20 November 2025) states that the CDC recommends the COVID-19 vaccine for the 2025–2026 season for people aged 6 months and over based on individual decision-making, and that getting it is especially important for those aged 65 and over. The page states that the CDC has published interim considerations for 2026–2027 season vaccines and that an update to the page is coming.

Shingles (herpes zoster): recommended for all adults aged 50 and over (CDC).

Pneumococcal: the CDC recommends it for all adults aged 50 and over, and for adults aged 19 to 49 with certain risk conditions.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV): the CDC recommends its vaccine for all adults aged 75 and over, and for adults aged 50 to 74 at higher risk of severe disease, such as people with chronic heart or lung disease, people with weakened immunity, people with certain other medical conditions and care home residents. The CDC states that it is not currently an annual vaccine.

Hepatitis B: recommended for all adults up to age 59, and for some adults aged 60 and over with known risk factors (CDC).

Human papillomavirus (HPV): recommended for all adults up to age 26, and for some adults aged 27 to 45 (CDC).

Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR): for all adults born in 1957 or later, and chickenpox: for all adults born in 1980 or later (according to the CDC, and these cut-offs are specific to the US context).

Other vaccines the CDC mentions for certain situations: hepatitis A, meningococcal vaccines (MenACWY and MenB), and the Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine.

The World Health Organization lists diseases that vaccines protect against, including: cervical cancer, cholera, COVID-19, diphtheria, Ebola virus disease, hepatitis B, influenza, Japanese encephalitis, malaria, measles, meningitis, mpox, mumps, whooping cough, pneumonia, polio, rabies, respiratory syncytial virus, rotavirus, rubella, tetanus, typhoid, chickenpox and yellow fever.

How to put it into practice

The CDC advises talking to your doctor to find out which vaccines are recommended for you, and whether you have missed a vaccine or need a booster dose.

The CDC suggests reviewing your need according to three axes: age, life events, work or travel, and health conditions.

MedlinePlus states that the vaccination schedule sets out the recommended vaccines for each group and when to take them, and that following it provides protection at the right time for children and adults. The schedule that applies to you is that of the health authority in your country.

According to the World Health Organization: getting several different vaccines in one visit is safe, combination vaccines are as safe and effective as single vaccines, and they do not overload the immune system.

Before vaccination tell the vaccine provider if you have had an allergy after a previous dose of flu vaccine or have previously had Guillain-Barré syndrome, as they may decide to postpone the vaccine in some cases (CDC flu vaccine leaflet).

Special groups

Pregnancy: the CDC recommends the whooping cough vaccine (Tdap) during every pregnancy between weeks 27 and 36 to protect the newborn from whooping cough, and making sure of COVID-19, flu and hepatitis B vaccines, and talking to the obstetrician or midwife to find out the vaccines suitable for you and your baby.

Older adults (see healthy ageing): according to the CDC the shingles vaccine from age 50, pneumococcal from age 50, RSV for everyone aged 75 and over and for those aged 50 to 74 at higher risk, COVID-19 is especially important from age 65 and over, and hepatitis B for some aged 60 and over with risk factors.

Chronic diseases according to the CDC: diabetes, heart disease, stroke and lung disease (including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease): pneumococcal vaccine. Liver disease: hepatitis A and B and pneumococcal. End-stage kidney failure: hepatitis B and pneumococcal. Weakened immunity: pneumococcal and shingles. HIV: hepatitis A and B, meningococcal MenACWY, pneumococcal and shingles. Absent or non-functioning spleen: Hib, meningococcal and pneumococcal.

The CDC states that flu complications are especially serious for people with diabetes and chronic heart or lung disease, which is one reason its vaccine is important for them.

Travel: the CDC states that the vaccines recommended or required for a traveller depend on age, health condition and itinerary, and advises three steps: making sure you are up to date on all recommended vaccines, learning the vaccines recommended and required for your destination, and getting vaccinated at least 4 to 6 weeks before travel.

Healthcare workers: the CDC states that those who work directly with patients or handle potentially infectious materials should be up to date on COVID-19, chickenpox, flu, hepatitis B, MMR and Tdap or Td vaccines, and the meningococcal vaccine for laboratory workers who handle Neisseria meningitidis bacteria.

Who may not be suited to a particular vaccine: the World Health Organization says almost everyone can be vaccinated, but some medical conditions mean a person should not receive certain vaccines or should wait before receiving them, including severe life-threatening allergy to vaccine components, which is very rare. The decision rests with the doctor.

Risks and cautions

The CDC says any vaccine can cause side effects, most of them mild such as arm soreness or mild fever, usually going away within a few days, and that vaccines are continuously monitored for safety.

Common effects according to the CDC: pain, redness or swelling at the injection site, and there may be fever, tiredness, headache, muscle pain or nausea depending on the type of vaccine. MedlinePlus states that other possible effects vary from one vaccine to another.

Examples from CDC pages: effects of the shingles vaccine (including arm soreness, tiredness, muscle pain, headache, chills and fever) usually go away on their own within 2 to 3 days, effects of pneumococcal vaccines usually go away within about two days, and the RSV vaccine may cause pain, redness and swelling at the injection site, tiredness, fever, headache, nausea, diarrhoea and muscle or joint pain, usually mild.

Serious effects: MedlinePlus says they can occur but are very rare, and may include severe allergy. The CDC mentions a very small chance of a vaccine causing a severe allergic reaction, other serious injury or death.

Guillain-Barré syndrome: the CDC mentions a possible very small increase in its risk after the inactivated flu vaccine, and that it has been reported very rarely after the shingles vaccine.

Fainting: it may happen after medical procedures including vaccination, so tell the vaccine provider if you feel dizzy, have changes in vision or ringing in the ears.

The CDC points out that not being vaccinated also has risks, including the risk of catching a potentially fatal disease.

Limits of this information

These are US recommendations as the CDC lists them, not a schedule for your country. Vaccination schedules differ between countries and according to age, health condition and travel, and what applies is what your doctor and the health authority in your country determine. This page does not cover vaccination schedules of the UAE or the Gulf countries.

Recommendations are constantly updated: the CDC's general adult vaccines page carries a review date of 12 June 2024 and does not mention the RSV vaccine, whereas the COVID-19 page was updated on 20 November 2025 and refers to an upcoming update for the 2026–2027 season, and the RSV and pneumococcal pages were updated in February 2026. Ask your doctor about the latest that suits you.

The number of doses, the intervals between them and the products are deliberately not mentioned here; the doctor or vaccine provider decides these according to your condition.

The side effects mentioned are examples from what appeared in the source pages and not a complete list for every vaccine, and MedlinePlus states that they vary from one vaccine to another. The severe allergy guidance below appeared in the flu vaccine leaflet.

This page does not cover rumours and misconceptions about vaccines in detail, so the answers are limited to what appeared in the World Health Organization, MedlinePlus and CDC pages cited.

Common questions