7 Vaccines You Need Right Now

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Adults need shots too

By Jessica Snyder Sachs

Three months before she gave birth, Diana Simpson, a dental hygienist in Davison, Michigan, started coughing. The pain was unbearable. “It brought me to tears,” she says. Simpson had pertussis, a bacterial infection that is known as whooping cough because of its seal-like cough.

Most people are vaccinated against pertussis as kids. But here’s a surprise: It’s come roaring back since an all-time low in the 1970s, largely due to waning immunity in adults.

Pertussis boosters strengthen immunity in adults, yet only 2% get them. That’s just one of several vaccines you may need now.

Next: Whooping cough