Immunization is the process of developing immunity, most often through vaccines. Vaccines train the immune system to recognize and fight infections in a safe way. They greatly reduce the chance of getting sick, needing hospital care, or dying from infectious diseases. When many people are vaccinated, it also helps protect the community by slowing the spread of disease, including protecting people who cannot get vaccinated. Vaccines may cause mild side effects like tiredness or soreness for a short time, but the protection they provide can last for many years or even a lifetime.
Infections can be unpredictable and serious, even when symptoms are mild or not noticeable. Vaccines help the body build protection before exposure, which is important because it may be too late to prevent illness after infection. Some vaccines need more than one dose to give full protection, and boosters may be needed over time.
See “Additional Resources” to learn more about the benefits and possible risks of vaccines.
During the 2023–2024 flu season, Hispanic/Latino American adults got the flu vaccine 23% less often than U.S. adults overall.
In 2024, Hispanic/Latino American adults age 65 and older got the pneumococcal (pneumonia) vaccine 35% less often than U.S. adults age 65 and older.
In 2022, Hispanic/Latino American adults were 25% less likely to have received all age-appropriate vaccines than U.S. adults overall.
Hispanic/Latino American children born in 2020 were 4% less likely to be fully vaccinated by age 2 compared with all U.S. children born in 2020.
Children born in 2020 who received the full series (either a 3-dose series or a 4-dose series depending upon the product type) of the Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine by age 24 months, percentage
Children born in 2020 who received at least 2 or at least 3 doses of the rotavirus vaccine (depending upon the product type) by age 24 months, percentage
Adults ages 50 and over who had ever received a shingles vaccination, percentage, 2019
Hispanic
Total Population
Ratio (Hispanic / Total)
15.1
26.1
0.58
Source: QuickStats: Percentage of adults aged ≥50 years who ever received a shingles vaccination, by race and Hispanic origin and sex — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2019. (2021). MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 70(24), 901.
Tetanus-Diphtheria (Tdap)
Adolescents
Adolescents ages 13–17 who received at least one dose of the tetanus-diphtheria (Tdap) booster H, percentage, 2024
Hispanic
Total Population
Ratio (Hispanic / Total)
90.6
91.3
0.99
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). TeenVaxView interactive. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Varicella (Chicken Pox)
Children
Children born in 2020 who received at least 1 dose of the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine by age 24 months, percentage
Adults ages 19 and over who had received all age-appropriate vaccines included in the composite measure (influenza in the past 12 months, Td or Tdap, Tdap, herpes zoster, pneumococcal), percentage, 2022
