Although members of the Utah County Health Department encouraged parents to get their kids vaccinated, they recommend adults stay on top of their vaccinations as well.
The Centers for Disease Control recommends that adults between the ages of 19 and 26 should be vaccinated for a number of different diseases, including Human Papillomavirus, Hepatitis B and Meningitis. The full list can be found on the CDC website.
Many students believe they don’t need any more immunizations because they live a life in accordance with the Honor Code. Terri Jackson and Darcy Knight, public health nurses at the immunization clinic of the Utah County Health Department, say that young adults still need the protection offered by vaccinations.
“Although living the standards required in BYU’s Honor Code does decrease the risk of contracting HPV and Hepatitis B, it does not eradicate the risk of contraction completely,” they said. “The vaccine should be considered because a future spouse may have been sexually active prior to marriage and may be infected. Second, as much as we do not like to consider it, there is no perfect way to prevent exposure to HPV through rape, adultery or divorce and remarriage.”
Adding to their point, they cited the CDC, who reported that 35 percent of those who have contracted Hepatitis B had no known risk factors.
Others believe that because they’ve been immunized in the past, they have no need for any more immunizations. The nurses at the immunization clinic say that’s wrong. “Without a doubt they need protection through adulthood from vaccine preventable diseases.”
