Find out from Dr. Tina Tan of Northwestern University why adult vaccination against various types of diseases is important
Learn about the importance of adult vaccination against measles and other diseases.
Courtesy of Northwestern University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
-
© American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Haunted houses. Horror films. Hayrides. What attracts us to fear?
-
© University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A Britannica Publishing Partner)See a 3-D simulation of the motion of the human rhinovirus, the virus that causes the common cold. The simulation was produced with the aid of the IBM Blue Gene/Q supercomputer.
-
© Massachusetts Institute of Technology (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Developing multifunctional fibers to deliver optical signals or drugs directly into the brain and to record neural activity.
-
University College Cork, Ireland (A Britannica Publishing Partner)American virologist Robert Gallo, speaking in 2011 to discuss HIV and the prospects for a vaccine.
-
© American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Developing a vaccine to fight nicotine addiction.
-
© American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)How anesthesia works.
-
© Open University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Learn about ancient Greek medicine.
News •
Personalized ovarian cancer vaccines spark immunity in phase 1 trial
• Oct. 28, 2026, 1:20 PM ET (Medical Xpress)
Hepatitis B Cases Could Surge Under New Vaccine Guidelines, Study Finds
• Oct. 19, 2026, 5:00 PM ET (Time Magazine)
Kennedy Pledged to Advance Anti-Vaccine Group’s Agenda. Here’s What He Is Doing.
• Oct. 16, 2026, 3:00 AM ET (New York Times)
Transcript
NARRATOR: To help protect infants from the recent measles outbreak, adults should check their own vaccination history.
DR. TINA TAN: If you have an adult person who is worried about measles and doesn't know whether or not they've received two doses of the vaccine, they should contact their physician. And if it for some reason they're unable to find out whether or not they got two doses, it's not going to hurt them to get a booster dose of vaccine to protect themselves.
NARRATOR: Dr. Tina Tan studies adult vaccine use at Northwestern Medicine and Lurie Children's Hospital. She has found many adult health care providers are not comfortable giving vaccines or don't stock vaccines for cost issues. And that's a public health concern.
TAN: As these vaccine preventable diseases start to reappear, it does become more imperative that adults stay up to date on their vaccines and receive the vaccines that they need.
NARRATOR: Tan is currently studying the role of pharmacists as vaccinators. Most pharmacists can give adults any vaccine they request.
TAN: Adults should be getting whooping cough vaccine, they should be getting flu vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine, herpes zoster vaccine, MMR vaccine. I mean, there are a number of different diseases that not only affect children but also affect adults, and these adults need to be vaccinated against these diseases.
DR. TINA TAN: If you have an adult person who is worried about measles and doesn't know whether or not they've received two doses of the vaccine, they should contact their physician. And if it for some reason they're unable to find out whether or not they got two doses, it's not going to hurt them to get a booster dose of vaccine to protect themselves.
NARRATOR: Dr. Tina Tan studies adult vaccine use at Northwestern Medicine and Lurie Children's Hospital. She has found many adult health care providers are not comfortable giving vaccines or don't stock vaccines for cost issues. And that's a public health concern.
TAN: As these vaccine preventable diseases start to reappear, it does become more imperative that adults stay up to date on their vaccines and receive the vaccines that they need.
NARRATOR: Tan is currently studying the role of pharmacists as vaccinators. Most pharmacists can give adults any vaccine they request.
TAN: Adults should be getting whooping cough vaccine, they should be getting flu vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine, herpes zoster vaccine, MMR vaccine. I mean, there are a number of different diseases that not only affect children but also affect adults, and these adults need to be vaccinated against these diseases.
Last Modification: