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Lost Your Vaccine Records? Here’s How to Track Them Down

By India Edwards HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Feb 24, 2025.

via HealthDay

MONDAY, Feb. 24, 2025 -- With measles cases on the rise and flu season straining the nation's hospitals, health experts urge adults to check their vaccination status and get any missing shots.

Health experts agree that vaccines are the best defense against many infections, but keeping track of vaccines received decades ago can be challenging.

“If you’re a 57-year-old adult like me, well, I’m sure that my pediatrician is no longer around,” Daniel Salmon, a professor of international health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told The Washington Post. “For many adults, especially older adults, there may not be a single source for their immunization record.”

Experts have some tips for tracking down your vaccine history:

“We have a really fragmented health-care system,” Salmon said, making records scattered and hard to access.

If records can't be found, blood tests can detect antibodies for certain diseases, including measles, mumps and rubella.

When in doubt, it doesn’t hurt to just get another dose of a vaccine, Dr. Priya Sampathkumar, an infectious-disease specialist at Mayo Clinic, told The Post.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends these vaccines for adults:

Experts recommend checking the CDC's travel guide for country-specific vaccine recommendations if you plan to travel abroad.

Is it too late for a flu shot?

Absolutely not, experts said. This year’s flu season is particularly severe, and the virus is likely to spread through May, Sampathkumar explained.

“Definitely get it now if you haven’t,” Emily Smith, an associate professor of global health at George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, told The Post. “It might save you from getting a second round of flu this year.”

Sources

  • U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Washington Post, media report, Feb. 21, 2025

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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