AFC Bon Secours Urgent Care Clinics can help adults stay on track with vaccines
As parents in the Upstate gear up for the back-to-school season, they know how important it is to make sure their kids are up to date on vaccines. What parents may not realize is it’s a good time to update their own immunizations as well.
Covered by most healthcare plans, vaccines are “one of the most affordable and simplest ways to prevent disease for yourself as well as disease transmission to those you love,” said Dr. Matt Delfino, Medical Director of AFC Bon Secours Urgent Care.
Some guard against illnesses “if you get an exposure,” Delfino said. Those include vaccines for COVID-19, influenza, and TDAP – Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis, more commonly known as Whooping Cough.
It’s important to get a flu shot every year, ideally in October, so you have the strongest immunity during flu season. You can find regular and high-dose flu shots (for those aged 65 and older) at all 15 AFC Bon Secours Urgent Care clinics. You should also find out when you last received the TDAP vaccine. Most kids get their final dose around age 11, but adults need to get it again with preventative Tetanus vaccines recommended every 10 years. If you find yourself with a laceration or puncture wound, you’ll need a new shot if it has been more than five years since your last one.
Don’t forget to review your vaccination records for three common vaccines: Hepatitis B, MMR (measles, Mumps and Rubella), and Varicella (chicken pox). Hepatitis is crucial for health care workers and those with weakened immune systems to protect their livers. If you were born before 1957 and don’t have a record of the MMR vaccine, it’s recommended for you. Adults who have never had chickenpox should get the Varicella shot, while those who had it should talk to their doctors and insurance providers about the shingles vaccine.
The Hepatitis A vaccine protects travelers headed to foreign countries with poor water and food hygiene. However, Dr. Delfino warns “people need to plan ahead,” because it must be given in two doses at least a month apart.
He urges everyone to find their vaccine records and talk with their Bon Secours primary care doctors about the vaccines they need. That’s especially true for women, who should get the TDAP vaccine during each pregnancy and any other necessary vaccines before leaving the hospital, after giving birth.
If you can’t get the vaccines at your doctor’s office, don’t worry, AFC Bon Secours Urgent Care has 15 locations to meet your minor illness, injury or back-to-school needs. Patients can walk in during normal business hours or “reserve a spot” by visiting afcurgentcare.com/greenville/.
