Over nearly four decades of practicing medicine, I answered a lot of questions about vaccines.
Some were simple. “Do I really need a flu shot every year?”
Others were more complicated. “Can I get several vaccines at the same time?”
And occasionally I heard something like: “Doc, I had the flu shot once and got sick anyway. Why should I bother?”
These are reasonable questions.
Vaccines can be confusing, especially after age 50. Recommendations change. New vaccines become available. And suddenly it can feel like every time you walk into a pharmacy, someone wants to give you another shot.
So instead of giving you another long list of vaccines, let’s answer seven of the questions people commonly ask.
1. “Why Do I Need More Vaccines Just Because I’m Getting Older?”
Because your immune system ages along with the rest of you.
As we get older, our immune system may not respond to infections as quickly or as strongly as it did when we were younger. This gradual change is sometimes called immunosenescence.
That matters because illnesses such as influenza, COVID, RSV, shingles, and pneumococcal disease can become more serious with age.
A respiratory infection that might have kept you on the couch for several days at 35 can potentially lead to pneumonia or hospitalization at 75.
Vaccination can’t eliminate that risk, but it can reduce it.
Dr. Mike’s Take: Think of vaccines as another part of healthy aging—along with exercise, good nutrition, blood pressure control, and not smoking.
2. “Can the Flu Shot Give Me the Flu?”
No. The standard injectable flu vaccines cannot give you influenza.
You may develop a sore arm, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, or a mild fever afterward. That’s your immune system responding to the vaccine.
Those symptoms usually resolve fairly quickly.
There’s another reason people sometimes blame the vaccine.
Imagine getting your flu shot on Monday and developing a cough and fever on Thursday. It’s natural to connect the two.
But you may have been exposed to influenza before receiving the vaccine, or you may have caught one of the many other respiratory viruses circulating during flu season.
It also takes about two weeks for your body to develop its full immune response after influenza vaccination.
So the flu shot didn’t give you the flu.
3. “If Vaccines Don’t Work 100% of the Time, Why Get Them?”
This is one of the most important questions.
We sometimes think about vaccines as an on/off switch:
I got vaccinated, so I won’t get sick. That’s not how most vaccines work. No vaccine provides perfect protection for every person.
The goal isn’t always just to prevent infection. Vaccination can also lower your chance of developing severe disease, complications, hospitalization, or death.
Think about seat belts. Wearing a seat belt doesn’t guarantee that you won’t be injured in a car accident. You wear one because it substantially improves your odds.
Vaccines work on a similar principle. They give your immune system a head start before it encounters the actual infection.
Remember This: A vaccine doesn’t have to prevent every infection to be valuable.
4. “Can I Get More Than One Vaccine at the Same Visit?”
In many cases, yes. Adults can often receive several recommended vaccines during the same visit.
For example, you might be able to receive influenza and COVID vaccines at the same appointment. Other vaccines may also be given during that visit when appropriate.
Your immune system is capable of responding to multiple vaccines.
You may experience a little more soreness or fatigue afterward, depending on which vaccines you receive, but receiving multiple recommended vaccines together can be convenient.
There are exceptions and special circumstances, of course. Your age, health conditions, medications, previous reactions, and the specific vaccines involved all matter.
But you generally don’t need to spread vaccines out simply because you’re worried that your immune system can’t handle more than one at a time.
5. “I Had Shingles Already. Do I Still Need the Shingles Vaccine?”
Usually, yes.
I’ve heard people say: “I already had shingles. At least I don’t have to worry about that again.” Unfortunately, you can get shingles more than once.
Shingles occurs when the varicella-zoster virus—the virus that causes chickenpox—reactivates later in life.
The CDC recommends the two-dose Shingrix vaccine for adults age 50 and older, including people who have previously had shingles.
Why do I pay so much attention to this vaccine? Because shingles can be miserable.
Even worse, some people develop postherpetic neuralgia, a type of nerve pain that can continue long after the rash has disappeared.
I’ve seen how much that persistent pain can affect someone’s quality of life.
If you’ve had shingles before, talk with your healthcare professional about the appropriate timing of vaccination.
6. “I’m Healthy and Rarely Get Sick. Do I Really Need Vaccines?”
Being healthy helps. Regular exercise, good nutrition, adequate sleep, and avoiding tobacco all contribute to better health. But being fit doesn’t make you immune to infectious disease.
I spent my career encouraging people to exercise and improve their lifestyle, and I still believe those are among the most powerful tools we have for healthy aging.
But exercise doesn’t replace vaccination. A healthy 65-year-old can still get influenza. An active 70-year-old can still develop shingles. And someone who walks three miles every morning can still develop pneumococcal pneumonia.
Your healthy habits and your vaccinations aren’t competitors.
They work together.
Bottom Line: Healthy living strengthens your foundation. Vaccination provides another layer of protection.
7. “Are Vaccines Safe for Older Adults?”
For most people, recommended vaccines have a favorable safety profile, but no medical treatment is completely risk-free.
Common vaccine side effects include:
- Pain, redness, or swelling where the shot was given
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Chills
- Mild fever
These usually improve within a few days. Serious allergic reactions and other major complications can occur, but they are uncommon.
The important question isn’t: “Does this vaccine have any risk?” Almost nothing in medicine has zero risk.
The better question is: “For someone my age and with my medical history, how does the risk of vaccination compare with the risk of the disease?”
That’s where an individual conversation with your healthcare professional becomes valuable.
Your previous vaccine reactions, allergies, medications, immune system, medical conditions, and age can all affect that discussion.
One More Question You Should Ask
There’s one question I wish more patients would ask:
“Can we review my vaccination record?”
Many adults don’t actually know what they’ve received.
Maybe you got a tetanus booster six years ago at an urgent care center. Maybe you received one shingles shot but never went back for the second. Maybe you had a pneumococcal vaccine years ago but don’t remember which one.
That’s understandable. The adult vaccination schedule has changed several times.
Instead of trying to remember everything yourself, gather whatever records you can from your doctor’s office, pharmacy, health system, or state immunization registry.
Then review them with your healthcare professional.
Dr. Mike’s Take
You don’t need to become an expert on vaccines.
And you certainly don’t need to memorize the adult immunization schedule.
What you need is a reliable source of information and a willingness to ask questions.
I always believed my job as a physician wasn’t simply to tell patients what to do. It was to explain why I was recommending something, discuss the potential benefits and risks, answer their questions, and help them make an informed decision.
Vaccines should be approached the same way.
If you’re over 50, ask your doctor: “Based on my age, health, and vaccination history, which vaccines do you recommend for me—and why?”
That’s a much better question than simply asking whether you “need another shot.”
Remember This
Vaccines aren’t perfect, and they aren’t risk-free. But neither are the diseases they’re designed to prevent.
As we get older, some of those infections become much more dangerous.
So ask questions. Understand the benefits and risks. Review your vaccination history.
Then make an informed decision about what’s right for you.