Check your routine vaccine record
Closing gaps in routine vaccination prevents infections that can cause severe illness or lasting harm.
The number, drawn
Why it matters
Protection may be missing because childhood doses were missed or boosters became due. CDC recommends tetanus and diphtheria boosters every 10 years after a completed primary series, with Tdap included. Measles immunity and hepatitis B vaccination also deserve a record check; the US hepatitis B recommendation includes adults aged 19 to 59.
How to do it
- Gather your records and ask a clinician or pharmacist to identify missing doses.
- Check whether you have had Tdap and when your next tetanus and diphtheria booster is due.
- Review hepatitis B vaccination, especially if you are 19 to 59 or have ongoing exposure risk.
- Ask about MMR catch-up if you lack evidence of immunity.
- If pregnant, ask about Tdap during each pregnancy and which vaccines should wait.
MMR is not given during pregnancy and can be unsuitable with immune suppression. Wounds may require earlier tetanus protection; missing primary doses need a catch-up series.
Do it
Pick the time you have. Anything beats nothing.
Start with the time you have
1 minute
Recall where your vaccine records might be: a childhood clinic, school service or previous doctor; choose whom to contact first.
5 minutes
Request your vaccine record from that service or check the record you already have.
15 minutes
Gather available records and list upcoming travel, pregnancy or immune conditions to discuss at a vaccine review.
A plan
Close gaps in routine protection
- Collect the records you can find, including vaccines received abroad.
- Ask a clinician or pharmacist to review tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, MMR and hepatitis B under your local schedule.
- Book any recommended catch-up appointments and keep the updated record together.
In real life
- Take your childhood vaccination record to a pharmacist and ask about gaps.
- If you are pregnant, ask your maternity team which vaccines are due and which should wait.
Watch out for
- Common mistakeA missing record does not prove you are protected, so ask a clinician to work out a catch-up plan.
- Common mistakeA routine booster schedule does not cover every wound, so get prompt advice about tetanus protection after an injury.
Trusted guides
In Czechia
In Czechia, adults get a tetanus booster every 10 to 15 years, and every 10 years over 60. A combined vaccine can be recommended but is not covered by public insurance.
In Germany, adults should renew tetanus and diphtheria every ten years and get pertussis once in adulthood. If you were born after 1970 and your measles status is unclear or you had only one childhood dose, one measles dose is advised. Statutory health insurance pays for every vaccine the G-BA directive recommends.
Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss checked
In Spain, adults should have their tetanus vaccination status checked and receive Td doses until they have 5 in total. People who had 5 doses in childhood and adolescence get one Td booster at around 65.
Ministerio de Sanidad checked
In the Netherlands, all pregnant women can get a free whooping cough jab from 22 weeks until the end of pregnancy, the earlier the better, to protect the baby. You make the appointment yourself with youth healthcare (JGZ).
In Poland, the adult calendar recommends for all adults a Tdap booster every 10 years, flu vaccine each season, 3 doses of hepatitis B if unvaccinated, and 3 doses of tick-borne encephalitis vaccine with boosters every 3 to 5 years.
Szczepienia.info, NIZP PZH-PIB checked
In Ukraine, the national vaccination calendar gives diphtheria and tetanus shots at 6 and 16 years, followed by revaccination every ten years for life. Calendar vaccination is provided free by the state.
Check usSources
- Evidence grade
- A Meta-analyses of randomised trials, or a major guideline consensus.
- Basis
- CDC adult immunization schedule and hepatitis B vaccination recommendations
- The number
- US schedule: tetanus and diphtheria boosters every 10 years after the primary series (CDC, 2025)
- Outcome
- US tetanus and diphtheria routine booster interval
- Comparison
- After a completed primary series; wounds and pregnancy can change timing
- Tier 1 guidelineAdult Immunization Schedule NotesCDC, 2025
- Tier 1 guidelineHepatitis B VaccineCDC, 2025
General health information, not a diagnosis or an individual treatment plan. Personalization changes the order of suggestions; it does not assess your medical risks. Follow the cautions and consult a qualified clinician when needed.