Connecticut Vaccinations & Immunizations
Our primary care locations in Connecticut can provide routine vaccinations and immunizations. On staff, we have board-certified physicians and trained professionals that are committed to providing high-quality care at an affordable price. Most major insurances are accepted.
Our Connecticut Locations Offering Vaccinations
ROUTINE VACCINATIONS in Connecticut
Routine vaccinations are recommended by doctors and physicians for everyone in the United States, varying on age and previous vaccine history. It is commonly assumed that all vaccinations are given in childhood, but many are recommended for adults and students. Some vaccinations (like the flu vaccine) are recommended every year, and some every ten years (such as the tetanus booster).
- Hepatitis A (HEP A)
- Hepatitis B (HEP B)
- TD (Tetanus-Diphtheria)
- TDAP (Whooping Cough)
- Flu (Influenza)
- HPV (Human Papillomavirus)
- Shingles (Herpes Zoster)
- Pneumonia (Pneumococcal)
- Meningitis (Meningococcal)
- Hepatitis A (Adult)
- Hepatitis A (Pediatric)
- Hepatitis B (Adult)
- Hepatitis B (Pediatric)
- Japanese Encephalitis
- MMR
- Menactra
- Zostavax (Shingles)
- Polio (IPV)
- Pneumococcal
- PPD
- Rabies Vaccination
- Tetanus Diphtheria (TD)
- Tetanus Diphtheria Pertussis (TDAP)
- Typhoid
- Twinrix (Hep A & B Combination)
- Typhoid
- Varicella
- yellow Fever
- Gardasil
- B-12
- Ceftriaxone
- Kenalog-10
- Phenergan
- Solu-Medrol
- Toradol
- Benadryl
Adolescents require certain immunizations and booster shots in order to receive immunity against common diseases. The US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians recommend a specific schedule of immunizations for children and adolescents each year. The schedule is useful to understand exactly when you need to return to offices for a vaccination. When following this schedule, you are less likely to become infected with the flu.
- TD (Tetanus-Diphtheria)
- Meningitis (Meningococcal)
- HPV (Human Papillomavirus)
- TDAP (Whooping Cough)
- FLU (Influenza)
- MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella)
- Chickenpox (Varicella)
- Pneumonia (Pneumococcal)
- Hepatitis A (HEP A)
- Hepatitis B (HEP B)
Older adults, aged 65+, are at an increased risk for many diseases that can be prevented by vaccines. As one grows older their immune system begins to weaken making you more prone to illness. Adults aged 65+ can take preventative measures by receiving the following vaccinations.
- Flu (Influenza)
- Shingles (Herpes Zoster)
- Pneumonia (Pneumococcal)
- TD (Tetanus-Diphtheria)
- TDAP (Whooping Cough)
- Hepatitis A (HEP A)
- Hepatitis B (HEP B)
- MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella)
If you plan to travel abroad, be sure to check with your closest Urgent Care Center to confirm your vaccinations are up to date. Certain vaccines are a required prerequisite before entering certain countries.
You can visit the CDC Travel Health Site for important information on the current prerequisite vaccinations. Once you know which vaccines you’re required to obtain, call 203-Urgent-Care to schedule an appointment, or walk in at any time.
- Yellow Fever
- Meningitis (Meningococcal)
- Japanese Encephalitis
- Typhoid
- Rabies
- Polio
- Hepatitis A (HEP A)
- Hepatitis B (HEP B)
- Hepatitis A/ Hepatitis B Combination
What to Know About Vaccinations & Immunizations
How Vaccinations Work
As a disease enters the body, it begins to reproduce itself and spread throughout. Your immune system recognizes this as foreign invaders and will attempt to combat the infection by making antibodies. The antibodies are responsible for destroying the germs. Unfortunately, they don’t act fast enough to prevent you from becoming sick, but by attacking the germs, the antibodies help you get well faster.
The secondary job of antibodies is to protect your body from future infections of the same disease. The created antibodies will remain in your bloodstream and will fight off the same germs if they try to infect you again––even after many years. Now that the antibodies have fought these germs before, they will destroy them before they have the chance to make you sick. This is known as immunity, which is exactly what vaccines are used for. Immunity is why the majority of people experience diseases like measles or chickenpox only once, even if you become exposed again.
Vaccines help your body continue straight to the second step of developing immunity without having the experience the sickness. Vaccines are made from the same germs that cause common diseases. For example, the flu vaccine is made from the flu virus. However, the germs in vaccines are either killed or greatly weakened so you won’t feel the effects of the illness, this helps to prepare the body.
Vaccines are introduced to your body through an injection. The immune system reacts to the germs in the vaccine in a similar way to how it would if it were being invaded by the actual disease––by making antibodies. The antibodies destroy the germs inside the vaccine just as they would with the disease germs. In a sense it is a training exercise for your body. The antibodies then stay in your body, which gives you immunity. If you ever become exposed to the disease, the antibodies created from the vaccine will be there to protect you due to the previous exposure they have had.
Why Are Vaccinations Important?
Children who are unvaccinated are susceptible to spreading diseases to other children, even if these other children have been vaccinated. This is because no vaccine is 100% protective.
In the United States, vaccinations have decreased the risk of most vaccine-preventable childhood diseases by over 95%. See www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4037.pdf for examples. Modern vaccines have either greatly minimized or completely eliminated outbreaks of certain diseases that were once lethal, such as measles and polio in the U.S., and smallpox worldwide. However, the bacteria and viruses that cause these diseases still exist, the percent of the public who goes unvaccinated is still at risk to these dangerous diseases.
Vaccines are effective because they protect individuals who have been vaccinated, but they also provide a broader protection for communities as a whole, which is known as “herd immunity”. When a high enough fraction of a population is vaccinated against infectious diseases, the population as a whole can obtain protection, including individuals who cannot receive vaccinations due to medical reasons.
Do Adults Need VAccinations?
It is just as important for adults to receive routine vaccinations as it is for children, yet many adults are not adequately vaccinated. Vaccinations for adults is important, if you are not vaccinated then your children are at risk of becoming infected. Although you may not feel symptoms of the disease, you may still be contagious. Certain diseases such as whooping cough rely heavily on adult immunity to prevent the spread of disease and in turn, protect children. Other vaccines, such as the shingles vaccine, protect against infections and diseases that develop solely in adults.
The Care You Need, When You Need It In Connecticut
DOCS Urgent Care of Connecticut is part of the larger DOCS Urgent Care health network. DOCS is a network of urgent care clinics run by board-certified health care providers, determined to give each and every patient quality care and treatment at an affordable price, we accept most insurance plans.
