4 Essential Types of Vaccines You Should Know
By Alpro Pharmacy
November 18, 2024
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Vaccines like flu, pneumococcal, shingles, and dengue are essential for preventing severe illness, reducing disease spread, and protecting those most at risk. By getting vaccinated, we can strengthen community health and help safeguard vulnerable groups.
What is Influenza?
Flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and sometimes the lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death.
What is the symptoms of getting Influenza?
People who have flu often feel some or all these signs and symptoms:
- Fever
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Runny nose
- Muscle or body aches
- Headaches
- Fatigue ( tiredness )
- Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults.
Vaccination schedule for a person is once a year. Flu viruses change every year, so the vaccine is updated annually to target the expected strains
What is Pneumonia?
Pneumonia disease often affects young children, but older adults are the highest risk of severe illness and even death. Pneumonia vaccines protect against infections caused by this bacteria, including invasive types of the disease.
Invasive disease occurs when bacteria invade parts of the body, like the bloodstream, that are normally germ-free. This form is usually very serious and can sometimes be fatal.
What are the symptoms of getting Pneumonia?
Pneumonia symptoms usually start to appear within 1 to 3 days after the bacteria enter the body.
- Chest pain
- Cough
- Fever and chills
- Rapid breathing or difficulty breathing
- Sore throat
- Headache
Older adults may experience confusion or low alertness, rather than the more common symptoms listed above.
Infants, children and adults at higher risk of getting seriously ill and people aged 65 years and above are recommend to get the pneumococcal vaccine. The pneumonia vaccine is not given every year like the flu vaccine. It contains no live bacteria and is generally well-tolerated, with mild side effects in most people.
What is Shingles?
Shingles is a painful skin rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. Chickenpox and Shingles are related because they are caused by the same virus (Varicella-Zoster Virus). After recovering from chickenpox, the virus stays inactive in the body but can wake up years later, causing shingles.
What is the symptoms when you are getting Shingles?
The most common complication of shingles is long-term nerve pain (postherpetic neuralgia). It can cause lasting pain in the area where the shingles rash used to be, even after the rash is gone. This pain can last for months or years, affecting everyday life.
The early symptoms should be have pain, itching or tingling in the area where the rash will develop. This early warning sign can happen several days before the rash appears.
However, the common symptoms of Shingles rash can be more widespread on the body and look similar to a chickenpox rash. This is very rare and usually only happens in people with weakened immune systems, include:
- Fever
- Headaches
- Chills
- Upset stomach
People aged 50 and above are encouraged to get the shingles vaccine to protect themselves from the virus with a gap of 2 to 6 months between them.
What is Dengue?
Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease caused by flavivirus. There are 4 serotypes (Dengue virus [DENV] 1 to 4). DENV infections can be symptomatic or asymptomatic. The symptoms ranged from mild to severe dengue, which can lead to shock and death if not treated appropriately.
What are the symptoms of getting Dengue?
Most people with dengue have mild or no symptoms and will get better in 1 to 2 weeks. Rarely, dengue can be severe and lead to death.
The symptoms usually begin 4 to 10 days after infection and last for 2 -7 days. Symptoms may include:
- High fever
- Severe headache
- Pain behind the eyes
- Muscle and joint pains
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Swollen glands
- Rash
The dengue vaccine is recommended for children aged 9–16 who have had dengue before and live in areas where dengue is common.
Vaccines for the flu, pneumonia, shingles, and dengue are important for keeping you and others healthy. They help prevent serious illness and reduce the spread of diseases. Talk to your doctor to make sure you’re up-to-date on these diseases.
