Vaccinations
Vaccinations, also called immunizations or shots, protect you, your family and people in our communities
Getting the recommended vaccinations in a timely manner helps keep children and adults healthy by helping your body fight against diseases. Children are required to get some vaccinations in order for to register for school.
Neighborcare Health offers most of the vaccinations you and your family need (except travel vaccines) in our medical clinics and at our school-based health centers for students registered as school-based patients, such as:
- Flu shot
- Hepatitis A
- Chicken pox
- Pneumonia
- Shingles
- Tdap or DTaP: Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough)
- And more...
Read more about vaccination services at our school-based health centers.
How vaccines work
Vaccines lower your risk of infection from a disease by working with your body to safely build immunity (protection) to that disease. The vaccine does not actually make you sick with that disease, though you may see minor signs of your immune system kicking in, such as a slight fever.
Why vaccines are important
Since the U.S. has decreased the number of deadly widespread diseases we see in our country with the use of vaccines, it can be easy to forget what it would be like if people still caught those diseases more often. Many people around the world still don’t have access to these life-saving vaccines.
According to Public Health—Seattle & King County, measles was considered to be eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, but more recently there have been a large number of cases reported nationally. That is why it is important that communities have high vaccination rates to stop measles and other diseases from becoming common again. If many people in a community are not vaccinated, it is much easier for diseases to spread and cause serious illness or death.
Who should get vaccinated?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends vaccines for children—from newborn babies to teenagers—and adults (www.cdc.gov/vaccines). Regular well-child checks for children and regular health checkups or adults, are a great way to stay in communication with your health care provider about different vaccines, screenings, and other health checks you and your children need.
Read more about recommend vaccinations from the Washington State Department of Health.