Vaccines Beyond Childhood: What Adults Need to Know for Health and Longevity

Hello and welcome to the Ask Dr. V Show. I'm Dr. Valda Crowder, aka Dr. V, Board Certified Emergency Medicine Physician, committed to empowering you with health information that you must know for yourself and your family. All right, so um this show, if you've missed any of the shows, it is rebroadcasted as a podcast. Um, so you can still catch any of my shows on uh on any of the podcast streaming platforms, Apple, Spotify, Audible, uh, you name it. And it's under the uh title What the Health Is Happening. So I am proud to announce that we are now the top 10 podcasts on Apple Podcasts in the medicine category. So thank you guys for commenting and subscribing and joining us there. All right, so today we're gonna talk about shots that matter vaccines, health, and longevity. Um, and so you know, we tend to think of vaccines as sort of a childhood thing. Um, shots that you get as a kid and maybe you never think about them again. But that's not really how immunity works. Um, it's not also, it's also not how diseases work. Also, science is moving forward. So as we move forward scientifically, um, we are actually developing new medications, uh new immunizations, um, all sorts of new things to help people live a longer, healthier life. Right now, there's significant confusion and a lot of conspiracy theories about the benefits of vaccines. What should I be getting? Um, today we are on pace to report more measles cases than we've reported since the 1990s. Meanwhile, the this false flu vaccine has been reformulated to fight a new strain of the flu. So I wanted to talk about all of it today. So, today I'm gonna talk about why vaccines still matter well into adulthood, which ones are actually needed, and why do the stakes go up as you get older, and how to make sense of uh the real numbers on the side effects. If you've been impacted by a vaccine, um, can you get compensated? And we're gonna talk about all of this without any of the hype. It's just the science and it's just the facts. So let's start off first with why vaccines still matter after childhood. Um, many of the vaccines recommended for adults protect against infections that can cause hospitalizations, disability, and death. There's also vaccines that actually prevent against cancer, which a lot of people don't realize. Most people think about vaccines in terms of preventing against infections, but there are vaccines that now also prevent against cancer. Um, the CDC's adult immunization schedule lays out recommendations by age and risk factor and vaccine history for the flu, COVID, shingles, HPV, hepatitis, uh, MMR, varicella, RSV, and all of these things. And we're going to talk about each of them specifically. But in addition to the CDC, there's also the AAFP, which is the American Association of Family Practitioners. And I always watch their guidance because that is all of the family practitioners or general practitioners in the country. So there's way less political influence in actually what their recommendations actually state. Um, there are many times when they actually have the same recommendations as the CDC, and as we you'll see when we discuss, there's a couple of times when they do not. So let's get into it. So the flu shot is the first one, and I'm talking about this now because this is around the time that people start talking about getting their flu shot. Um, so this is a yearly shot that really prevents against uh severe forms of influenza. Um, it helps to actually prevent hospitalization and also death from the flu. In this situation, AAFP and the CDC completely agree. And they agree on their recommendations about who should get this. It is recommended for everyone six months old and older, uh, so kids and adults and the elderly to get the vaccine uh every year. There is a particular emphasis on people that are over 50 years old or have COPD or asthma or diabetes or kidney disease, or if you're thinking about getting pregnant, um, or if you are in a nursing home, or if you have a BMI over 40. So these are the people that um really, really, really should actually uh should actually get it. The next vaccine is COVID-19. So this is where the CDC and the AAFP diverge. So the CDC no longer recommends COVID vaccines for everyone that is over six months. I'm I'm gonna say that again. They no longer recommend yearly COVID vaccines for uh kids and adults. The AAFP uh actually takes a different um a different uh opinion on the COVID-19 vaccine. They recommend uh that people, they still recommend that people should get the COVID vaccine at any age, however, they also have particular emphasis on the risk factors, and the risk factors for all of these are about the same: asthma, COPD, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary hypertension, stroke, BMI greater than 30, diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease, or any sort of immunocompromised disease. So then let's talk about shingles because I hear a lot of people talk about should I get the shingles vaccine? And you see all the commercials uh on TV for shingrix. And shingles is basically the infections already in your body, um, but it actually comes out again, usually as a very painful outbreak on your skin. So a lot of people think that shingles, once you get it, if you get it, then you can't get it again. That is not true. So you can get shingles over and over again, and I have seen people who have gotten shingles uh more than once in their life. About one in three people, so about a third of the population will get shingles. If you've reached the age of 85, you have a 50% chance of getting shingles. The other thing that's important, people think about it as a painful skin abruption that actually, you know, eventually leaves. Uh, most people have described it as the most painful in thing that they've actually had in their entire life. Um, and some people do have permanent damage as a result of shingles. Um, you can get sort of a post-herpetic neuralgia where people get pain that can persist for months to years. You can get eye symptoms that lead to blindness, bell's palsy, or stroke. So right now, um the shingles vaccine um is a vaccine that um is recommended mainly for people that are uh 50 years old or older who would like to prevent themselves from experiencing shingles. Now I'm gonna talk about HPV, because HPV is uh recommended for those that are between nine years old and twenty six old. And this is one of the actual vaccines that actually prevents cancer. So this prevents cervical cancer, vaginal cancer, anal cancer, pe penile cancer, and cancers of the mouth. Um and again, it is recommended for people nine to twenty six years old to actually prevent those cancers. I think we could see a time where uh these types of cancers almost don't exist anymore with um vaccination of young adults. Lastly, um I'm gonna talk a little bit about RSV. And RSV, a lot of people ask me, what does the initials stand for? It's respiratory sensitial virus. And most people have had this. Um it occurs in adults and is kind of like one of the one of the viral infections that we may call the common cold. Um, and kids, it can get a lot worse because a lot of children have very small airways. So a lot of kids wind up needing to be hospitalized and sometimes some even die of RSV. So you'll hear people talk about um the importance of getting an RSV vaccine. This vaccine is a once-in-a-lifetime vaccine, so you do not get it yearly. You get it once and that's it. It is recommended for people that are 50 to 74 with all the risk factors that we discussed before, or people that are greater than 75. It is also recommended for people that are pregnant between the gestational weeks of 32 and 36 weeks. And what happens is it actually helps to then protect the kids uh that are then uh that are then born. Um and we're seeing a decrease in RSB in children. Um I've seen a lot of RSB in my career. Um it is it is something that really that the that the that the younger kids really really struggle with and it leads to a lot of hospitalization um and death in in children. All right, so I tell people infections that are mild in young and healthy people can really turn serious um in older people as we age. During the uh 2024 and 2025 flu season, the CDC estimated that vacc vaccinations prevented 10 million illnesses in the United States. It actually prevented five million uh uh medical visits, uh, it also prevented 180,000 hospitalizations, and 12,000 people lived because they were vaccinated. So I think this is something that I I remind people it's very, very, very important and uh something that um people should always uh always remember. This is a time to sort of talk to your physician um about what vaccines you do need. Um go over your health record with your primary care doctor. As I always tell people, I'm here to to help guide you to ask your doctor uh the correct questions, but ultimately your health decisions have to be made between you and your physician. All right, so let's go on to news you can use. Um, so let's start out with measles, and there's a lot of talk about measles, and I want to actually uh tell people why. So we had gotten to the point where we had eliminated measles in the United States, and I want to remind people of this because as we talk about measles, people assume that, well, I mean, haven't we always had measles? No, we have not. So in 2000, we had eliminated measles. So what that means, elimination means that there were zero cases for more than 12 months. So we had no cases for more than a year. In fact, it was a lot more than a year. Zero cases in the United States of measles. So fast forward now to 2026, and we have over 300 cases this year. And we had two deaths in Pennsylvania. Those were initially put on the CDC website, now they've been taken off the CDC website. Uh, but the state of Pennsylvania has confirmed that there were two deaths associated with measles. One was actually in a newborn, um, and all of the cases were associated with those that were not vaccinated. Um, so I just want to really remind people measles is extremely contagious. Um, and it is really, really important uh that the kids get all of their uh all of their vaccines because you never know when you're gonna actually run into this. Um hopefully we will kind of move forward as a country and get back to being vaccinated and get back to the point where we have eliminated measles. Second news you can use uh the King Harold of Norway was hospitalized for the second time this year of basically a bacterial infection. He ultimately passed, but he had a bacterial infection uh that actually led to a hemolytic anemia. And a lot of people don't realize is that infections can cause your body to start breaking down your red blood cells. And then in addition to fighting the infection, you also have problems carrying around oxygen to all the parts of your body that need the oxygen. So he unfortunately uh he unfortunately passed. Sun took the uh son took the throne. Um I wanted to actually uh just give uh a shout out to Norway. I'm actually number two on Apple Podcast in Norway, so shout out to you guys for listening. We are watching the healthcare news that is going on in your country as well. So, with that, I'm gonna actually switch over and talk a little bit about bacterial vaccinations. You know, as as I said about the king of Norway, he died of a bacterial infection. We have a string of bacterial vaccines, but it doesn't cover every single type of infection. But you will hear some of them, and you will hear some of them talked about in the news. So, one of the main ones that you may hear talked about is the the pneumococcal vaccine. Um, and pneumococcus is a bacterial infection that causes pneumonia, it causes an infection in your bloodstream, it can also cause uh meningitis and sepsis. Pneumococcal vaccines are recommended for everyone that is over 50 years old. And if you are between the ages of 19 and 49 and you have any of the risk factors that we've discussed earlier, it's recommended for you as well. Then you'll also hear people talking about tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. This actually is uh a vaccine that you have to get every 10 years. So you will often, if you cut yourself or you have any sort of injury, you will maybe go into the emergency department and they'll ask you, are you up to date on your tetanus? Have you had your tetanus shot within the past five to ten years? If you have not, we will give you that vaccine in the emergency department. And that vaccine is usually a booster. It lasts for 10 years. Um, in addition to tetanus, it also covers uh diphtheria and pertussis. Um, the last uh bacterial infection that I'm I mean, the last bacterial vaccination that I'm gonna talk about is the meningalcoxal vaccine. Um it is not routine for every adult, but it is recommended for specific risk groups, travelers, and certain occupational exposures. Um people sometimes get this vaccine when they're 11 or 12 years old, and then they get a booster at 16. All right, we've got a caller on line one. Um, but before I take the caller online one, I just want to talk about one important thing, um, and that is um traveling. It's really important when you actually travel internationally that you look at what are the possible vaccines that I may need based upon where I'm traveling. There are physicians that specifically actually uh have this as a specialty. I know I've had to get extra vaccines when I've traveled to Zimbabwe and done medical missions in various areas. It's very regional specific. Um, and certain uh there are certain travel clinics where you can go in and you can tell them where you're going. Um, these vaccines are normally needed almost two months before you travel. So I remind people, if you're traveling somewhere internationally, uh, to make sure to actually uh check that out before you go. All right, we've got a caller on line one. Linda, you've got a question? Hi, Doc. Yes, hi, Dr.

V. I have a question. When I one time when I um went to get my COVID vaccine in the middle of the winter, it was very cold out. I had three hoodies on. I had lots and lots of layers, and I the pharmacist gave me the injection, and then the next thing I knew, I was so hot. I just had I literally took everything off and I just had a t-shirt on, and I ended up walking home with just my t-shirt on.

Yes. So, so and this happened almost immediately after getting the vaccine. Yes, yes, yes.

I'm wondering, is that a normal reaction, or should I have been worried and done something about it?

Yeah. So what what happens is your body actually reacts to the vaccine is actually igniting your immune system. So if you tell me you got really, really hot, or in some cases, if people got a fever, that's actually good a good sign because that's your immune system actually turning on to the vaccine. And that's what you actually want. So you want your vaccine, you want your immune system and your body to actually go, hey, there's something foreign here, and begin to develop antibodies. And so in that process, the body will actually heat up or sometimes have a fever. So that's actually a good reaction, believe it or not. I know it wasn't good for you, it might not have felt good. It didn't feel good. It didn't feel good, right? You you feel like you gotta walk home almost naked, right in the middle of the winter. Yeah, yeah. People are looking at me. Right, right, right. Like, what is she doing? Right? No, but that's actually, that's actually your immune system is working well. So, yes, no, thank you for your call. I tell people all the time is that yeah, you will sometimes get flushed, or you may actually get a fever, or maybe your body just feels a little bit warmer. Um, and that will, that is your body doing the work that it needs to do. Thanks for calling in.

Thank you. All right, bye-bye.

So, so what's really happening? Um, so just a little bit about immune science. It was uh is that as we age, um, your immune system really becomes less and less reactive. Um, and that's why older people become more vulnerable to serious infections. And so, what might actually be a sniffling cold to someone who's young, um, for an older person, the infection can cascade into inflammation, hospitalization, em immobility, muscle loss, loss of independence, uh difficulty being able to actually stand or walk. Um, and you know, when people survive pneumonia and when they survive the flu, it really doesn't mean that you're gonna automatically go back to your exact previous level of health. Um, and so a lot of times um an infection, whether or not it be a flu or pneumonia, can be significant. And people don't actually get back to their baseline, they get to a lower baseline. Um, maybe they can't move as fast, maybe they can't walk at all. And so you really want to protect your mobility, you want to be able to protect your cognition and your independence at any age. And so getting vaccinated is really about um how do we really protect all of that? All right, to hear more about today's topics and other critical health issues, please listen to my podcast, What the Health Is Happening, where we are giving you the inside scoop on all health matters, from breaking news to life-changing medical updates. It's available on all podcast streaming platforms. Download and subscribe and comment today. All right, I'm gonna get into a couple of questions, questions that were emailed into me, and I wanna actually go over those. And so, um, and the real important question I get a I get asked a lot about vaccines and problems with vaccines, side effects of and what actually can be done. So Monica said, I heard there's a federal program that pays patients for vaccine injuries or complications. Doesn't that mean that vaccines are dangerous? So, no, it doesn't mean that vaccines are dangerous because any medication, any medication at all that you take, uh any test that you get done, anything that you do in the emergency department or hospital or in a doctor's office has risk factors with it. The question is, the question always is, what is riskier? Um, is it more likely that you're gonna catch the infection or is it more likely that you're gonna have a vaccine-related complication? And what we've seen with the vaccines that have actually been approved is the complication rate is significantly less than um the risk of actually catching the disease and dealing with the complications. Um, a lot of people ask me have I actually seen anyone with vaccine complications? Um, during COVID, I saw one patient uh that had uh Gilean Barre, which is a paralysis, a temporary paralysis. But when I say temporary, I don't mean a minute or two that, you know, Gillian Barre, you could be paralyzed for uh weeks to months. Um, most of them actually do recover. This patient did recover. Um, and I did see uh one case of that. Uh, but again, I saw many, many, many more cases of people who had COVID and just died. So there is a national vaccine injury compensation program. It was established in 1986. And uh what it does is it actually it clarifies the compensation award doesn't necessarily mean the government concluded that the vaccine caused the injury, but it it may mean that it may be vaccine related. In other words, the symptoms came on within a time period that would make it likely that the vaccine had some component of what to do, uh some component or some causation in it, or it was related in some way, shape, or form. So since 1988, there have been 29,670 petitions that have been filed, and 12,848 of them were compensated. And since 1988, they have paid out roughly 5.5 billion dollars in compensation over that, I guess, almost uh what 20-year, 20-year time period or so. Um, so this actually, and and my patient that actually had the Gillian Barret syndrome, I actually did give her the information for the national vaccine injury compensation program. Um, so this program does exist. If you Google it, it is a uh federal government uh website. It actually comes up. Also, if you Google any of these vaccines on the CDC website, they will actually give you um what are the side effects that we're seeing and the predominance of these side effects. And again, usually they're very uh limited in scope and the disease has more risk than the actual vaccine. Alrighty, um, we have got just a a minute, uh a minute or two left. I wanted to let's see if I can just get one other question, sort of. Um, I have a patient who's traveling out of the country. What uh what should I be thinking about? Um, the main thing you should be thinking about is going to see a travel-related physician. Um, specifically, you want to be concerned about things like hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid, uh yellow fever, um, and also uh any sort of uh mosquito-borne uh diseases like malaria and how do you present prep prevent yourself from having uh those sorts of exposures to those sorts of things? Um Alright, I want to thank you guys for joining me today. We're really committed to answering um your most pressing healthcare questions. If you want to email me or send me an audio message, you can send it to info atasdrv.us. That's info atask drv.us. Um, I do actually read all of your emails uh and I try to answer uh most of them. Uh, vaccines are not one and done from childhood. Um, what you need as you age really changes. So you really want to have this conversation with your physician and make sure that you're actually really keeping up on what you need to be doing to protect yourself. Talk to your physician about what you're due for and don't wait until you're actually standing in line to go into the emergency department to think about it. This is the time now, before flu season, to really, really think about it. We've got some exciting episodes that are coming up. I just want to let everybody know. We're gonna be talking about narcissism. We are going to be talking about postpartum depression and psychosis given the Lindsay Clancy case. So stay tuned here because a lot of the headlines that you see in the paper are things that are actually related to medical diseases. We will be back next week. Stay informed, stay empowered about your health, and reach out to me if you actually want to actually ask any questions at info at askdrv.us, that's info at askdrv.us. I want to thank you for joining me today, and I look forward to talking to you again next week.

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