We all need immunizations (also called vaccines or shots) to help protect us from serious diseases. To help keep our local campus community safe, BuckMD and OSU Student Health Services are proudly participating in National Immunization Awareness Month.
Shots can prevent infectious diseases like measles, diphtheria, rubella, and HPV. They can also reduce the number of students who will suffer from influenza each winter. But people in the U.S. still die from these and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
It’s important to know which shots you need and when to get them. Visit the Student Health Services website for information on the wide array of vaccines we provide.
Here are some general guidelines for the vaccines you need:
- Everyone age 6 months and older needs a seasonal flu shot every year.
- Check your records to be sure your have been fully immunized against measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox.
Other shots work best when they are given at certain times.
- All adults need a Td booster shot every 10 years to protect against tetanus and diphtheria, and should consider a Tdap booster to protect against whooping cough as well. (The “p” in Tdap stands for pertussis, aka whooping cough)
- First-year students should consider a meningitis shot if they have not had one since they turned 16.
- HPV vaccines are only licensed up to age 26, and are best received early in your sexual life.
Talk to your doctor or nurse to find out other immunizations you may need. Go to our Events Calendar to get dates and times for our Flu Shot programs, and click on the date you choose to get more information
Here is a comment from a student who came to SHS for their flu shot – “the flu shot clinic (was) very efficient and convenient since I did not have to schedule an appointment.”
Roger Miller, MD (OSU Student Health Services)