Immunizations You Need Through All Stages of Life

Vaccines are developed to help your body build up immunity to fight off infection or disease. From birth through all stages of your life, getting vaccinated can protect infants, children, teens, and adults from potentially harmful diseases that can be serious, or even be deadly. Our providers at Bluestem Health in Lincoln, Nebraska, regularly talk with their patients about the importance of getting immunizations throughout all the stages of your life. 

Your age has a lot to do with contracting certain diseases and that is why it is so important to follow the recommended immunization guidelines by age put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Your family medicine provider will also remind you of when vaccinations are due based on your age and health risks. 

Immunizations Protect You and Your Family

Knowing when vaccines are due at different ages of your life can be a lot to remember. We’ve broken them down by age based on the CDC’s recommendations.

Birth	Hepatitis B
1 to 2 Months	Hepatitis B (second and third doses) Rotavirus (RV) Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap) Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) Pneumococcal disease (PCV) Polio (IPV)
4 Months	Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis  Haemophilus influenzae type b  Polio  Pneumococcal disease Rotavirus Hepatitis B Polio (IPV)
6 Months	Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis  Haemophilus influenzae type b  Polio  Pneumococcal disease Rotavirus Influenza COVID-19
12 to 23 Months	Chickenpox Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis Haemophilus influenzae type b Polio  Pneumococcal disease Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) Hepatitis A Hepatitis B COVID-19
2 to 3 Years	Annual checkup Influenza COVID-19
4 to 6 Years	Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis Polio Chickenpox Measles, mumps, rubella Influenza COVID-19
7 to 10 Years	Annual checkup Influenza COVID-19
11 to 12 Years	Meningococcal conjugate vaccine Human papillomavirus (HPV) Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis Influenza COVID-19
13 to 18 Years	Annual checkup Influenza COVID-19
19 Years and Older	Influenza COVID-19 (2-3 dose primary series and booster) Human papillomavirus (19-26 years if not vaccinated by 11 or 12) Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis Hepatitis B (19-50 years) Pneumococcal (65+ years) Zoster (50+ years)

More Important Things To Know

Here is a complete list of immunizations recommended by the CDC effective 2023 for healthy individuals. If you have a medical condition, review this list for recommended immunizations by medical condition.

If you are thinking about getting pregnant, the CDC recommends you have the following vaccinations BEFORE PREGNANCY:

• Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR)
• Chickenpox
• Hepatitis B
• Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis (Tdap)
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
• Influenza 

One thing to note: over time vaccines can wear off which can leave you at risk for diseases that are preventable. That’s another reason to follow the CDC guidelines on when to get vaccinated. Read more here about how vaccines help protect you and your family through all stages of life. 

No matter what stage of life you are in, our family medicine providers at Bluestem Health will make sure you receive the necessary vaccines to protect you from getting preventable diseases. Bluestem Health has six clinic locations to serve patients in Lincoln, Nebraska. To schedule an appointment, existing patients can call or schedule here on our website, or for new patients, please call 402-476-1455.