Vaccination Clinic in Mineola, and Melville, NY

Here are 5 reasons that vaccines are important:

• Vaccines save lives. In the last 50 years, vaccines have saved more lives than any other form of medical intervention. Before these vaccines, many people suffered from complications that are now prevented.

• There are vaccine-preventable diseases affecting people. Many of these diseases are rare in the U.S. because of widespread vaccinations. Some of these diseases are still present in the U.S. and can become epidemic problems if vaccination rates drop. Whooping cough and measles outbreaks are still possible.

• Vaccines protect everyone. Vaccines protect the people who are vaccinated and those around them. When more people are vaccinated, it is more difficult for diseases to spread. Someone who cannot become infected cannot spread the disease.

• Vaccines protect future generations. Vaccines have wiped out diseases that have devastated people in the past. There will be others that are wiped out in the future. Vaccines reduce antibiotic use and resistance. When people are protected against viral and bacterial infections, they will need fewer antibiotics to fight off infections.

Vaccines can vary in price, depending on what you need, whether you have insurance and whether the reason is specific or for community immunity.

Vaccines for COVID-19 and flu are often available to everyone at no charge. This is because these are diseases that can spread easily too many people and can be quite traumatic for people who are immunocompromised.

Vaccines for other conditions may have fees associated with them, especially if they are needed for travel to another country. Vaccines for hepatitis A and B, along with cholera and typhoid, may be recommended for travel to other countries.

Check with your doctor or local pharmacy to find out more about what these will cost. You will also want to plan for some of these vaccines, as they may require multiple shots and time to fully activate in your body.

The frequency and need for vaccinations will vary. For example, strains of the flu are different every year, so annual vaccination is important. For COVID-19, the need keeps changing. Boosters have been helpful, but new strains keep developing and vaccinations against those can be important. For diphtheria and tetanus, boosters are required every ten years.

There are many vaccines that will require only one shot. For these, the immunity they create remains, and boosters are not required.

There are other vaccines that become more important as people get older. Vaccines for shingles and pneumococcal virus are essential as people age. These may require one or two shots.

A pathogen is a virus, parasite, fungus, or bacterium that can cause disease. Each pathogen has several components and responses that are unique to it and the disease it causes. The component that causes the formation of antibodies is known as an antigen. The antibodies that are produced as a response to the antigen are part of the immune system. Antibodies are the body’s defense system. Each antibody in the system recognizes a specific antigen.

When the body is first exposed to an antigen, the body needs to react and produce new antibodies, and this takes time.

Vaccines work by introducing weakened or inactive antigens of a particular disease into the body. These activate the immune system to create antibodies to fight particular antigens. Newer vaccines work a little differently, using a blueprint for creating antigens instead of introducing the antigens. This allows the body to build an immunity to the antigen while not allowing the body to become sick.

Call Northeast Primary Care to find out what vaccines we have available and to make an appointment. We serve patients from Mineola NY, Melville NY, Westbury NY, Floral Park NY, Uniondale NY, Hicksville NY, Wyandanch NY, South Huntington NY, and BEYOND!