Your immune system fights germs to help you stay healthy. Both children and adults are immunized or vaccinated to help their immune systems fight off disease. When you get a vaccine, you get a very small dose of a bacteria, like measles or the flu, and the body builds up resistance to these bacteria in case you get infected later in life.
- Vaccines (MedlinePlus)
- Get Vaccines to Protect Your Health (for Adults) (Healthfinder.gov) [Easy-to-Read]
- Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination: What Everyone Should Know (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention)
- Mpox Vaccines (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention)
- Immunizations (healthychildren.org)
- Immunization Schedules (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention)
- Catch Up on Well-Child Visits and Recommended Vaccinations (for Children) (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention)
- Screening Checklist for Contraindications to Vaccines for Adults (Immunization Action Coalition)
- Vaccine Information (Immunization Action Coalition)
- Vaccines: Who and When (Vaccines.gov)
- Vaccines & Immunizations (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Mobile apps and tools can provide you with easy-to-use information and resources that can serve as one part of your overall strategy to become and stay healthy. For tips on selecting additional apps for exercise and physical activity, please review How to Choose a Good Health App by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Users can identify correct vaccine, dosage, and timing with 2 or 3 clicks. Free. iOS, Android.
CDC’s TravWell app helps you plan for safe and healthy international travel. Build a trip to get destination-specific vaccine recommendations, a checklist of what you need to do to prepare for travel, and a customizable healthy travel packing list. The app also lets you store travel documents, keep a record of your medications and immunizations, and set reminders to get vaccine booster doses or take medicines while you’re traveling. Free. iOS, Android.
This app provides information about immunizations from the Vaccine Education Center. Free. iOS, Android.
Resources selected by Sarah Towner Wright, Health Sciences Library, UNC-Chapel Hill,
Last reviewed March 14, 2023