August is National Immunization Awareness Month, making this a great opportunity to remind everyone to get their appropriate vaccines. Vaccines aren’t just for kids. Approximately 40,000 to 50,000 adults in the U.S. die from vaccine-preventable infectious diseases or their complications each year.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), thousands of American adults get sick each year from devastating diseases that vaccines can easily prevent. During National Immunization Awareness Month, make sure you’re up to date on your vaccinations.
Health.mil, the official website of the Military Health System and Defense Health Agency, states that vaccinations are critical components of routine healthcare. They protect against severe illness, disability, and death from 15 infectious diseases, including influenza, pneumococcal disease, herpes zoster (shingles), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, HPV-related cancers, tetanus, polio, Dengue fever, mumps, measles, and pertussis (whooping cough).
The enormous impact of COVID-19 vaccines in reducing illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths further demonstrates their immense value. And recent data shows that measles, once thought eradicated in the U.S. thanks to vaccines, is at a 35-year high in 2026.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC reported a concerning drop in routine immunizations for children and adults. Routine vaccination is rebounding but unevenly and has not yet recovered among all groups. Many children and adults who delayed vaccination during the pandemic are still behind schedule. It is crucial that steps are taken to help get everyone back on schedule with their routine immunizations. Children and teens can still catch up on vaccinations even if they start late.
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