Did You Know?
- Routine immunizations have helped lead a significant decline in vaccine-preventable diseases in Canada.
- Vaccines help to prevent 267,000 outpatient clinic visits annually, freeing up 57,000 hours of physician’s time.
- Immunizations help protect pregnant women from vaccine-preventable diseases and their antibodies are transferred to the fetus, offering newborns increased protection in early life.
- Health Canada recently approved vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) for older adults, which helps increase protection against this common respiratory infection for those most at risk.
- Some vaccine-preventable diseases can result in long-term health complications, like chronic nerve pain or vision and hearing loss, as seen with conditions like shingles.
Despite all of the above, many Canadian adults aren’t fully vaccinated, or are even aware of their own vaccination status. Whether it’s the tetanus booster you need every 10 years, a shingles vaccine for those 50 and older, or a yearly flu shot, staying up to date is key in helping maintain your overall health.
National Immunization Awareness Week runs from April 23rd to April 30th, 2025 and you can book an appointment with one of our pharmacists to help ensure you’re protected. Learn why vaccines matter, how to stay protected and how our pharmacists can help you catch up.
The Importance of Staying Up to Date with Your Vaccines:
Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to help protect yourself and those around you, ensuring long-lasting immunity against serious, but preventable, illnesses. However, staying current with vaccines is a lifelong commitment, as the need for protection can change throughout different stages of life.
- Immunity from some childhood vaccines can decrease over time, and many vaccines require boosters to maintain long-term protection. For example, the protection from diseases like pertussis (whooping cough) or tetanus can fade, necessitating booster shots to ensure continued immunity.
- When more people are vaccinated, it helps reduce the spread of infectious diseases, protecting those who may not be able to receive certain vaccines themselves.
- Our need for protection against certain illnesses changes throughout our lives. For example, pregnant women may need specific vaccines to help protect both themselves and their unborn children, like the flu shot or the whooping cough vaccine. Similarly, older adults may require vaccines like the shingles or pneumonia vaccine to help protect them from age-related vulnerabilities.
- Vaccination plays a role in global health and travel. For those planning to travel internationally, certain vaccines may be required or recommended, depending on where you’re going. Diseases like yellow fever, typhoid, and hepatitis are more common in some countries, and getting vaccinated before travelling can help prevent outbreaks from spreading back to Canada.
Advantages of Vaccines
Before vaccines, illnesses like diphtheria, measles and polio led to many hospitalizations and deaths. Immunizations are a major public health success, helping to reduce and control communicable diseases. The advantages of vaccines are clear—and if vaccination rates drop, these diseases could return and cause hospitalizations and deaths from preventable illnesses.
More Vaccine Benefits:
- Herd immunity: When you're vaccinated, you help to create “community immunity,” or herd immunity. You help protect both yourself and those around you. The more contagious a disease is, the more we need high vaccination rates to reach herd immunity. For example, for measles, the most contagious vaccine-preventable disease, we need vaccination rates as high as 95 per cent.
- Fewer hospitalizations: Diseases like tetanus, shingles and influenza can lead to serious, long-term health issues, requiring a hospital stay or expensive medications. Being vaccinated helps lower your chance of getting these illnesses, and if you do catch them, having the vaccine will help you fight it off quicker and with fewer complications.
Why Canadians Are Falling Behind in Their Immunizations
- Lack of awareness: Many adults don’t realize that vaccines are needed after childhood.
- Confusion about eligibility: Some people assume that vaccines like those for shingles or pneumonia don’t exist or aren’t readily available to them.
- Busy schedules: Work, family and other commitments make it easy to forget or delay vaccinations.
- Limited access to healthcare: Long wait times, doctor shortages and fewer clinics in rural areas make it harder to stay up to date.
To keep up with your vaccinations, set reminders, check your immunization records and book an appointment with your primary care provider or pharmacist to discuss which vaccines you might be missing. If you're travelling, plan ahead and book an appointment with a Travel Clinic in order to get the right vaccines for your destination.
What Pharmacists Can Do for You
Pharmacists help make vaccines more accessible, especially in areas where healthcare access is limited. They help play a key role in educating the public, advocating for immunizations, and administering vaccines to help keep Canadians protected.
- No doctor’s visit needed! In many provinces, pharmacists can give certain vaccines without a prescription.
- Expert guidance on vaccine safety. Just like doctors and nurses, pharmacists can explain how certain vaccines work, why they’re important, and what to expect when you get one.
- Convenient access. With extended hours and easily accessible locations, pharmacies make it easier to fit vaccinations into your schedule.
- Help with coverage. Pharmacists can assist in determining if your vaccine is covered by your province, private insurance, or workplace benefits.
Remember: staying up to date on vaccines is a simple but effective way to help protect your health and the health of those around you. Whether you need a routine booster, a seasonal flu shot or to close gaps in your protection against vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccines are a vital part of adult healthcare.
