Vaccines and Immunizations in Tampa, Florida
AT DAVIS ISLANDS PHARMACY, OUR LICENSED PHARMACIST IS AVAILABLE TO ADMINISTER A VARIETY OF VACCINES AND IMMUNIZATIONS FOR ADULTS.
Don’t wait: vaccinate. At Davis Islands Pharmacy, we offer vaccinations against shingles, pneumococcal, pneumonia and influenza. Stop by the pharmacy to have our pharmacists review your vaccine records and offer recommendations based on your age, health, and time of year. What’s more, Medicare Part B is now accepted for all immunizations offered by Davis Islands Pharmacy.
Our registered pharmacists are available to provide vaccinations daily starting at 11am, no appointment necessary. To save time or ensure the appropriate staff is available when you plan to stop by, you can also call in advance to schedule your vaccination.
Vaccines and Immunizations in Tampa, Florida
At Davis Islands Pharmacy, we regularly vaccinate for:
• Influenza
• Shingles
• Pneumonia
• RSV
• Tdap
• COVID
If the vaccination you’re looking for is not currently listed above, call to see if we’re able to assist.
WHAT IS A VACCINE?
Vaccines are used to stimulate the production of antibodies that provide immunity against particular diseases. As many are aware, many vaccines are prepared from the agent that causes the disease, products derived from it, or some form of synthetic substitute.
Vaccines are designed to act as an antigen, protecting you from the disease without inducing it. In other words, the flu shot may contain a little bit of influenza or its causative agent: enough to immunize you against the flu during flu season, protecting you from catching it, but not enough to give you the flu.
IMMUNIZATIONS IN THE US
A whopping 70,000 American adults unnecessarily die each year from diseases or complications arising from diseases that are preventable with a simple vaccine. These vaccines are designed to help protect us against disease, disability, and death – but many, unfortunately, take them for granted.
Another major cause of vaccine-preventable deaths is the notion that the vaccinations they
received as children are enough to protect them for their entire lives. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Some immunizations can be administered once and last an entire lifetime; however for many, the effectiveness of the vaccine can decrease as we age.
Even worse, many American adults may not be aware of the diseases for which they were vaccinated against as children – and make the incorrect assumption that they were. What’s more, as the scientific community makes more discoveries and advancements in medicine, there are new vaccines available today that may not have been available when we were kids.
FLU SHOT IN TAMPA, FLORIDA
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that everyone 6 months and older get annual vaccinations against influenza. Each year, new versions are created to protect against the three or four new forms of influenza that research indicates will be most common during flu season. For the 2017/2018 season, the CDC makes the specific recommendation for the injected form of the flu shot – not the nasal spray form.
WHO SHOULD GET THE FLU SHOT?
The CDC recommends everyone over the age of 6 months get an annual flu shot. This recommendation has been in effect since 2010, and is designed not only to protect you against the flu, but to help prevent the spread of influenza to more people. At Davis Islands Pharmacy, we have the new flu shot in stock and are able to administer it to you without an appointment!
WILL THE FLU SHOT DEFINITELY WORK?
While it’s the most effective product on the market, the honest truth is that the answer to this question depends on a variety of factors. Such factors include the age and health of the individual getting the flu shot, and also the similarity between the viruses in the vaccine and the specific version of influenza that’s in circulation. The scientific and medical communities to their best to anticipate these things, but there are cases in which slight variations and bad luck may not provide full and complete protection.
CAN THE FLU SHOT GIVE ME THE FLU?
Funny we asked for you. No. Some people think that since influenza is used in the development of the vaccine, you run the risk of the shot backfiring and actually giving you the very disease it was designed to protect you from. This can’t happen for a variety of reasons.
First, if the flu shot you receive was in fact developed from the influenza virus, the influenza has been deactivated and therefore is not infectious. The second option is that the flu shot you receive wasn’t developed from the virus itself but is still proven effective, like recombinant flu shots – so there’s no flu in the shot for you to develop.
In some cases, the flu shot can cause soreness or mild side effects and in rare cases a fever, all of which can be mistaken for the flu – but these side effect typically go away within 1-2 days.
SHINGLES VACCINE
The CDC recommends adults above the age of 50 get vaccinated for the shingles vaccine. The shingles appears as a painful rash that can develop, typically on the face or torso. There are two versions of the shingles vaccine currently available, with the newer vaccine called Shingrix providing better efficacy. Generally, people find the rash consisting of blisters that usually scab over between 7 and 10 days and clears up within 2-4 weeks.
If you’re wondering if your painful rash or scab could be the shingles, seek medical attention, but most people describe the pain as an extremely intense burning sensation. Just because the rash has gone away does not mean the pain will subside: for some people, the burning sensation persist for months or even years after the rash subsides. Therefore, it’s crucial to get vaccinated to avoid the discomfort of shingles and the long-lasting burning sensation that often follows, called postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).
WHO IS MOST AT RISK FOR SHINGLES?
Your risk of getting both shingles and PHN increase as you get older, and Shingrix has been proven to be more than 90% effective at protecting you from both. If you fall above the recommended age range for the shingles vaccine, the CDC recommends healthy adults get two doses of the shingles vaccine. You should get these doses between two and 6 months apart; waiting longer may mean you need to start the regimen over. The two versions of the shingles vaccine are called Shingrix and Zostavax, which stands for zoster vaccine live.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SHINGLES VACCINE?
Shingrix is the newer, more effective vaccine and offer strong protection against both shingles and PHN. Shingrix is preferred over Zostavax, which has been in use since 2006, but if you’re allergic to Shingrix, Zostavax is still an option.
The vaccine is typically administered in the upper arm, and protection stays above 85% for the first four years after you receive the vaccination, decreasing over time after that. Our pharmacy staff is trained and certified to administer the Shingles vaccine, so stop by the pharmacy or call to find out if you’re due!
PNEUMONIA, PNEUMOCOCCAL DISEASE & PREVNAR 13
Pneumococcus, also known by its scientific name, Streptococcus pneumonia, is a kind of bacteria that leads to pneumococcal disease. There are various forms of pneumococcus disease, including certain bloodstream infections, ear infections, sinus infections and pneumonia.
Each year, thousands of Americans develop infections as a result of Sreptococcus pneumonia, including meningitis. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), pneumococcal disease is the world’s number 1 vaccine-preventable cause of death among infants and children under the age of 5.
WHO IS MOST AT RISK?
While anyone is susceptible to pneumococcal diseases, those most at risk include adults above the age of 65, and children below the age of 2. The good news is: there are vaccines available to prevent pneumococcal disease, such as Prevnar 13 – but it’s important to note that while vaccinating is proven highly effective at protecting you from developing the infections and the resulting side-effects, it’s not perfect. However, getting vaccinated can alleviate the symptoms if you do develop a related disease, and Davis Islands Pharmacy’s licensed pharmacist is trained to administer Prevnar 13.
PNEUMONIA
Pneumonia can be caused by a variety of organisms like bacteria, viruses, or fungi – the most common of which are bacteria and viruses we breathe in the air. Pneumonia affects the lungs and is caused by inflammation of the air sacs. It can affect 1 or both of the lungs, and may result in a cough caused by fluid or pus filling the air sacs.
While our bodies are designed to protect us from these germs infecting our lungs, sometimes they can overpower our immune system and cause horrible side effects that can be extremely dangerous. This is extremely uncomfortable, and often leads to coughing up phlegm, fever, chills, and difficulty breathing.
HOW BAD IS PNEUMONIA?
Pneumonia can vary in severity: everything from mild to life-threatening, and is most severe for those with existing health issues, weakened immune systems, for children and for those over the age of sixty-five. Depending on the type of germ that caused the pneumonia, it comes with a variety of symptoms – many of which resemble and therefore can be confused with the flu virus, but don’t reside as quickly as the flu.
SYMPTOMS OF PNEUMONIA INCLUDE:
- Chest pain when coughing or breathing
- Changes in mental awareness or confusion (most common among the elderly)
- Uncomfortable cough, often producing phlegm
- Extreme fatigueFever, often accompanied by shaking or the chills
- Body temperature that’s lower than normal
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea
If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, we encourage you to please seek medical attention. To prevent these symptoms, lessen them, or at the least reduce your risk of developing them to begin with, stop by Davis Islands Pharmacy: Tampa’s longest running pharmacy. Our trusted and trained pharmacist can administer Prevnar 13 for you.
PREVNAR 13
Prevnar 13 is an immunization delivered for the prevention of the diseases caused by Streptococcus pneumonia. In adults ages 50 and older, Prevnar 13 is the go-to drug for the prevention of pneumococcal pneumonia and other invasive diseases and is administered in a single dose. For adults, Prevnar 13 may come with side effects, some of which include:
- Muscle or joint pain
- Headache or vomiting
- Decreased appetite
- Chills
- Diaherea
- Low-grade fever (less than 102)
- For children, side effects may arise differently, including:
- Crying
- Fussiness
- Irritability
If your child experiences side effects or allergic reactions from Prevnar 13, they should receive the booster vaccine after the first dose. Make sure to keep track and tell your doctor of any such side effects. Overall, Prevnar 13 could be considered safe, and studies indicate that roughly 8% of children receiving the vaccine report side effects.
Prevnar 13 is not 100% effective and will only protect against the 13 strains included in the vaccine. However, before the vaccine was available, it’s interesting to note that in the US there were:
- More than 700 cases of meningitis
- Roughly 13,000 blood infections
- 5 million ear infections
- 200 deaths
Particularly for adults, it’s important to note that Prevnar 13 can interact with various other drugs, including steroids, chemotherapy or radiation, certain medicines that treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, or other medicines for autoimmune disorders. Therefore, it’s important to have your medication reviewed prior to getting vaccinated.
AT DAVIS ISLANDS PHARMACY, WE WILL REVIEW YOUR MEDICATION TO ENSURE ADMINISTRATION OF PREVNAR 13 IS SAFE FOR YOU.
