Older people are more likely to suffer serious illness if they contract certain infectious diseases. This is why you are recommended to have certain vaccinations once you reach 65.
Vaccinations are also recommended when travelling to certain countries and you might need to prove you have had them in order to travel to some countries.
Below we list the vaccinations that are recommend for older people and give links to the NHS pages giving advice on why it is important to have them. You can also find information on the NHS pages about the possible side-effects.
Pneumococcal infections are caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae and can lead to pneumonia, septicaemia (a kind of blood poisoning) and meningitis.
The NHS advice page for this is here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pneumococcal-vaccination/
Shingles can be very painful and uncomfortable. Some people are left with pain lasting for years after the initial rash has healed. Shingles is also fatal for around 1 in 1,000 over-70s who develop it.
The NHS advice page is here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/shingles-vaccination/
If you are over 65 and catch flu, you can fall very ill. Over 55,000 people over the age of 65 are admitted to hospital every year with flu and sadly, 15%, (almost 8,000) die.
You can see the NHS advice for older people on the flu vaccine here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/flu-influenza-vaccine/
If you are travelling to countries where you are at greater risk of contracting infectious diseases, you should have appropriate vaccinations.
You can see the NHS advice on travel vaccines here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/travel-vaccinations/
There are also links on that page where you can find out more about where you can get your jabs.
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