Adults are not held as strongly to a vaccine schedule; however, there are many vaccines that have been shown to prevent virus and disease in adults.
Many are covered by Manitoba Health. Some are not and patients wanting these vaccines will need to pay out of pocket.
Tetanus Vaccine (Td)
- Who Pays for it: Insured by Manitoba Health (No cost to the patient)
- Who Should have it: Should be taken every 10 years by adults
- Protects against:
- TETANUS (T) (Lockjaw) causes painful stiffening of the muscles. Tetanus can lead to serious health problems, including being unable to open the mouth, having trouble swallowing and breathing, or death.
- DIPHTHERIA (D) can lead to difficulty breathing, heart failure, paralysis, or death.
Tdap
- Who Pays for it: Insured by Manitoba Health (No cost to the patient)
- Who Should have it: Adults who are due for a tetanus booster and have not previously received a pertussis-containing vaccine in adulthood and pregnant women in every pregnancy optimally between 27 and 32 weeks gestation.
- Protects against: Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis
- TETANUS (T) causes painful stiffening of the muscles. Tetanus can lead to serious health problems, including being unable to open the mouth, having trouble swallowing and breathing, or death.
- DIPHTHERIA (D) can lead to difficulty breathing, heart failure, paralysis, or death.
- PERTUSSIS (aP), also known as “whooping cough,” can cause uncontrollable, violent coughing which makes it hard to breathe, eat, or drink. In teens and adults, it can cause weight loss, loss of bladder control, passing out, and rib fractures from severe coughing.
Human Papillomavirus Vaccine(HPV)
- Who Pays for it: For eligibility please see the Manitoba Health Website at: https://www.gov.mb.ca/health/publichealth/cdc/vaccineeligibility.html
- For those not eligible it can be purchased directly from your family physician.
- Who Should have it:
- All those covered by Manitoba health
- Individuals up to the age 45 for women and age 26.
- There are circumstances where this vaccine is beneficial outside these age ranges. Speak to your health care provider to see if it is beneficial for you.
- Protects against: Human papillomavirus
- Cervical cancer and other cancers of the genitals, head, neck and throat
Influenza Vaccine (Flu Shot)
- Who pays for it: Insured by Manitoba Health (No cost to the patient)
- Who should have it: Everyone over 6 months of age every year.
- Protects against: Various common strains for the season flu.
- Most people who get flu will recover in a few days to less than two weeks, but some people will develop complications (such as pneumonia) as a result of flu, some of which can be life-threatening and result in death.