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Patient education

The diseases these vaccines prevent

CDC data on the illnesses these vaccines prevent — what they are, how often they occur, and who the CDC says should be vaccinated.

Influenza (Flu)

Standard · High-dose (65+)

Not a bad cold. Flu is a respiratory infection that fills hospital beds every winter, and how hard it hits changes from season to season. The shot is reformulated each year because the virus is not the same one it was last year.

What the data shows

The CDC classified the 2024–25 season as high severity: an estimated 51 million illnesses, 710,000 hospitalizations, and 45,000 deaths. [15]
In that same season, the CDC estimates flu vaccination prevented 10 million illnesses, 180,000 hospitalizations, and 12,000 deaths. [15]
In 2024–25, vaccine effectiveness against flu-related hospitalization ranged from 39% to 62% depending on age group. [16]
We carry only single-dose prefilled syringes, which are free of thimerosal as a preservative. For the 2025–26 season the CDC recommended flu vaccination with only single-dose, thimerosal-free formulations. [18]

Who it's for

Everyone 6 months and older, every season, with rare exception. For adults 65 and older the CDC preferentially recommends three specific flu vaccines^[17] — we carry a high-dose option. Antibodies take about two weeks to build, so earlier is better than later.

Schedule: 1 dose each season. Available from late summer for the 2026–27 season.

Pregnant? This one protects both of you.

Flu during pregnancy is more likely to cause illness serious enough to land you in the hospital, and it can be harmful to the developing baby. A flu shot during pregnancy protects both you and your baby — and since a baby cannot be vaccinated until 6 months old, your antibodies are what cover them until then.^[19]

Any trimester works. The CDC notes that vaccination in July and August can be considered during the third trimester, so the protection is at its strongest during your baby's first months.^[20]

You get the shot, not the nasal spray — the nasal-spray vaccine is not for pregnancy.^[19] And you get the standard-dose, preservative-free formulation. The CDC recommends that pregnant patients receive only single-dose flu vaccine free of thimerosal as a preservative^[18] — and we carry only single-dose prefilled syringes, so there is nothing to ask for. The high-dose vaccine is licensed for adults 65 and older, and we do not substitute one for the other.

Hepatitis B

Heplisav-B

A virus that infects the liver. It spreads through blood and body fluids — a needlestick at work, a shared razor, contact with infected blood. Most people who catch it never feel sick, which is exactly why it keeps spreading.

What the data shows

Florida has the highest acute hepatitis B rate of any state — 3.1 cases per 100,000. [1]
In 2023 the CDC counted 2,214 acute cases nationally but estimates the real number was about 14,400. Most infections are never diagnosed. [1]
About 640,000 US adults are living with long-term (chronic) hepatitis B. [2]
Of 2023 acute cases with hospital records, 64% were hospitalized. 1,769 people died of hepatitis B-related causes. [1]

Who it's for

CDC recommends hepatitis B vaccination for all adults 19–59, and for adults 60+ with risk factors. If your job exposes you to blood — dental, tattoo and piercing, medical, laboratory, first responder — OSHA requires your employer to offer it to you at no cost (29 CFR 1910.1030).

Schedule: 2 doses, 1 month apart.

Hepatitis A

Havrix · Twinrix

Also a liver virus, but a different one. It spreads through contaminated food or water and close personal contact. Unlike hepatitis B it does not become a lifelong infection — but it can flatten you for weeks.

What the data shows

The CDC reported 1,648 cases in 2023, corresponding to an estimated 3,300 infections. [3]
85 hepatitis A-related deaths were reported in 2023. [3]

Who it's for

Recommended for international travelers, people with chronic liver disease, and others with risk factors. If you need both A and B, Twinrix covers them in one series.

Schedule: Havrix: 2 doses. Twinrix: 3 doses.

Shingles

Shingrix

If you had chickenpox, the virus never left. It sleeps in your nerves and can wake up decades later as shingles — a painful, blistering rash, usually a band on one side of the body.

What the data shows

About 1 in every 3 people in the United States will get shingles in their lifetime. [4]
An estimated 1 million cases occur each year in this country. [4]
Risk rises sharply after age 50. Roughly 99% of adults over 50 have had chickenpox — so the virus is already there. [4]
The most common complication is postherpetic neuralgia: nerve pain that can persist long after the rash clears. Shingles can also cause vision loss. [4]

Who it's for

CDC recommends 2 doses for all adults 50 and older, and for adults 19+ with weakened immune systems. You do not need to remember whether you had chickenpox — and no blood test is needed first.

Schedule: 2 doses, 2 to 6 months apart.

RSV

Arexvy · Abrysvo

A common respiratory virus. In a healthy young adult it is a bad cold. In an older adult, or anyone with heart or lung disease, it can mean a hospital bed.

What the data shows

Each year an estimated 110,000–180,000 adults ages 50 and older in the US are hospitalized because of RSV. [5]
In real-world data from the 2023–24 season, Arexvy was about 83% effective at preventing RSV-associated hospitalization in adults 60+; Abrysvo was about 73%. [6]
RSV can worsen COPD and heart failure, and can be fatal in some adults. [5]

Who it's for

CDC recommends a single dose for everyone 75 and older, and for adults 50–74 at increased risk — chronic heart or lung disease, diabetes with complications, kidney disease, a weakened immune system, or living in a nursing home. This is not an annual shot. If you have had one RSV vaccine, including last year, you do not need another right now.

Schedule: 1 dose. Any time of year; late summer or early fall is ideal.

Pregnant? This one is for your baby.

RSV is the most common cause of hospitalization in US infants, and a newborn is too young to be vaccinated. A single dose given to you at 32–36 weeks of pregnancy passes protection through to your baby for their first 6 months of life.

Only Abrysvo is approved in pregnancy — Arexvy is not. We will not substitute one for the other.

Timing matters, and Florida is a special case. The CDC recommends maternal RSV vaccination from September through January for most of the United States — but names parts of Florida as a place where RSV circulates on a different schedule, so the right timing here may not be the national one. Ask us; we will check it against current guidance and your due date.

[9]

Pneumococcal Disease

Prevnar 20 · Capvaxive

A bacterium that causes pneumonia, bloodstream infection, and meningitis. It is the “pneumonia shot” most people have heard of and are not sure whether they have had.

What the data shows

In October 2024 the CDC lowered the routine age from 65 to 50. If you are 50 or older and have never had a pneumococcal vaccine, you are due now. [7]
One dose of Prevnar 20 or Capvaxive completes your pneumococcal vaccination. No follow-up Pneumovax is needed afterward. [7]
If you have no spleen or your spleen does not work, you are at higher risk of severe infection at any age. [8]

Who it's for

All adults 50 and older. Also adults 19–49 with certain conditions: no spleen, a cochlear implant, a spinal fluid leak, diabetes, chronic heart, lung or liver disease, kidney failure, HIV, or if you smoke. Planning a splenectomy? Ideally vaccinate at least 2 weeks before surgery.

Schedule: 1 dose.

Whooping Cough

Boostrix (Tdap)

A bacterial infection of the airway. In adults it usually looks like a cold that turns into a cough that will not quit — for weeks. Most adults never realize what they have. That is the problem: they hand it to a newborn who cannot fight it.

What the data shows

Whooping cough is endemic in the United States, with peaks every few years. Cases last peaked in November 2024. [10]
In 2024 the country returned to its pre-pandemic pattern of more than 10,000 cases a year — more than six times as many as in 2023. [10]
It is most dangerous for babies. [11]

Who it's for

CDC recommends a Tdap dose for every adult who never got one as a teen or adult, and Tdap during every pregnancy — each pregnancy, not once. It also replaces Td for wound care. If there is a new baby coming into your family, everyone around that baby should be current.

Schedule: 1 dose. In pregnancy: weeks 27–36, every pregnancy.

Measles

MMR

One of the most contagious diseases known. It spreads through the air — you can catch it simply by walking into a room an infected person has already left. This is not a historical illness. It is happening now.

What the data shows

As of July 9, 2026, 2,231 confirmed measles cases have been reported in the United States this year, across 32 outbreaks. Florida is among the 42 jurisdictions reporting cases. [12]
For all of 2025, 2,289 confirmed cases were reported — the highest annual total since 1991. [12]
93% of 2026 confirmed cases are outbreak-associated — meaning the virus is spreading here, not only arriving here. [12]
Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. Each year it is brought back in by travelers. [12]

Who it's for

Adults born in 1957 or later without evidence of immunity. If you are traveling internationally, work in healthcare, or are not sure whether you had two doses as a child — this is worth a conversation. MMR is a live vaccine, so it is not for everyone: not during pregnancy, and not with a seriously weakened immune system. We screen for that before administering.

Schedule: 1 or 2 doses depending on your history.

Chickenpox (Varicella)

Varivax

Highly contagious. In a child it is usually a miserable week. In an adult it is worse, and it can lead to pneumonia, brain inflammation, or a hospital stay. It is also the virus that comes back as shingles decades later.

What the data shows

If you were born in the United States before 1980, the CDC considers you to have evidence of immunity — with three exceptions: healthcare personnel, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems. [21]
Serologic evidence of past infection was found in 96–97% of US-born adults aged 20–29 and 97–99% of adults 30 and older. [21]
Two doses are about 92% effective against chickenpox of any severity; one dose is about 98% effective against severe disease. [21]
Given within 3 days of exposure — possibly up to 5 — the vaccine is 70–100% effective at preventing illness or making it milder. [21]

Who it's for

Two doses for adults without evidence of immunity. Healthcare personnel need documented immunity regardless of birth year — a provider-diagnosed history of chickenpox or shingles counts, as does lab evidence or two documented doses. This is a live vaccine: not during pregnancy, and not with a seriously weakened immune system. We screen for both before administering.

Schedule: 2 doses, at least 28 days apart.

Meningitis ACWY

MenQuadfi

A bacterial infection that can move from feeling like flu to life-threatening in a single day. It is uncommon — and that is exactly why it is missed. Survivors can lose limbs or hearing.

What the data shows

Serogroups B, C, W, and Y cause the majority of meningococcal disease cases in the United States. [13]
Invasive meningococcal disease is uncommon, but is associated with rapid clinical deterioration and a high risk of death. [13]

Who it's for

Routine at 11–12 with a booster at 16. Also recommended at increased risk: no spleen or a spleen that does not work, complement deficiency, taking a complement inhibitor, HIV, lab work with the bacteria, travel to regions where it is common, military recruits, and first-year college students living in dorms. Many colleges require proof before move-in.

Schedule: 1–2 doses depending on age and reason.

Meningitis B

Bexsero

The same disease — a different strain. This is the gap most people do not know they have. The meningitis shot required for college covers A, C, W and Y. It does not cover B, and B causes a large share of cases in exactly that age group.

What the data shows

MenB requirements are set by individual universities rather than by states, so most college students are not covered against this strain. [14]
Serogroup B is one of the serogroups causing the majority of US meningococcal cases. [13]

Who it's for

Recommended for anyone 10+ at increased risk: no working spleen, complement deficiency, complement inhibitor use, or lab exposure. For healthy 16–23 year olds it is a shared decision between you and your provider — not automatic, but worth asking about before a dorm.

Schedule: 2 doses.

Hib

Hiberix

Haemophilus influenzae type b — a bacterium that causes meningitis and bloodstream infection. Childhood vaccination made it rare. For adults, it matters in essentially one situation.

What the data shows

Hib vaccine is not routinely recommended for healthy adults 19 and older — even if you never received it as a child. [22]
The CDC recommends 1 dose for adults with anatomical or functional asplenia, including sickle cell disease, who did not previously receive it. [22]
For elective splenectomy: 1 dose, preferably at least 14 days before surgery. [22]

Who it's for

If you have no spleen, your spleen does not work, or you have a splenectomy scheduled — this is for you. Otherwise it is not. We are not going to sell you a vaccine you do not need. Hib is part of our Splenectomy Series alongside pneumococcal, MenACWY and MenB, which together are what the CDC recommends for asplenia.

Schedule: 1 dose. Before an elective splenectomy: at least 14 days ahead if possible.

HPV

Gardasil 9

A very common virus passed by skin-to-skin contact. Most infections clear on their own and never cause trouble. The ones that persist can cause cancer years later — cervical, throat, anal, penile, vulvar, vaginal.

What the data shows

The CDC recommends routine vaccination at age 11 or 12, and catch-up vaccination through age 26. [23]
The vaccine prevents new infections. It does not treat an infection you already have, and it works best when given before any exposure. [23]
Most sexually active adults have already been exposed to HPV — though not necessarily to every type the vaccine covers. [23]

Who it's for

Through age 26: catch-up is recommended if you were not fully vaccinated. Ages 27–45: this is a conversation, not a default. The CDC is direct about it — HPV vaccination does not need to be discussed with most adults over 26. Where it can still matter: a new sex partner is a risk factor for a new HPV infection at any age, while people in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship are unlikely to acquire one. No Pap or HPV test is needed first. Ask us or your physician.

Schedule: 2 doses if started before the 15th birthday; 3 doses if started at 15 or older.

Not sure which ones you need? That's what we're here for. We come to you.

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This is educational information, not medical advice. CDC recommendations change, and not all of them apply to everyone. Before administering any vaccine we review your history and screen you individually using the CDC's contraindication checklist. If you have a medical condition, talk with your physician or with our pharmacist.

Sources

Content last reviewed July 16, 2026 by Jeff Godin, PharmD, Pharmacist-in-Charge, Vaccine Van Rx, LLC — Florida Pharmacy Permit PH36499. Figures reflect CDC data available on that date.