health-screenings - Department of Health and Human Services

on your immunizations and health screenings.

What’s your reason to stay updated?

As a caregiver, you do everything you can for your loved ones. That should include making sure you and those you care for are updated on immunizations and health screenings. See what’s recommended for specific age groups below.

COVID-19, flu, and RSV vaccines are now available.
Vaccines will be available at healthcare provider offices, pharmacies, and local health departments. Community vaccine clinics may also be held at worksites, schools, health clinics, and other locations. You can also search for a vaccine provider near you at vaccines.govopens in a new tab. Not all locations may have each type of vaccine.

Call before you go to check vaccine availability and contact your health insurance or the vaccine provider about any costs before receiving the vaccines.

19 - 29 years old / 30 - 39 years old / 40 - 64 years old / 65 years and older / Birth to 18 years

Your body doesn't always give you warning signs.

It’s important to get a wellness checkup every year because many health conditions don’t cause symptoms until they’re serious. Most serious health conditions and diseases can be prevented or are easier to treat if you catch them early.

One of the most important things you can do to stay safe and healthy is to make sure you have the right information, at the right time. Healthcare providers are a great source of information. That’s why it’s important to find a doctor or healthcare provider you trust. You can create a strong partnership with your doctor or healthcare provider if you try to go to the same provider as much as possible.

If you looked at the list of recommended health screenings and thought to yourself:

I’ve never had any of these tests and I’m just fine.
I’m healthy.
I’m not doing that right now. I’ll do it later, or if I get sick.

YOU are exactly who healthcare providers are trying to reach.

The reason we know many health conditions and diseases don’t have any symptoms until they’re serious is from the heartbreaking stories and experiences of so many people who also thought they were just fine—that they’d do it later—so they didn’t find out until it was serious. Getting screened is easy. It’s a little inconvenient, but it’s not hard. What’s hard is finding out you have a serious health condition that could’ve been prevented or would’ve been easier to treat if you had found it earlier. That’s hard—just ask your doctor. Unfortunately, this is something else we’ve learned from the experiences of people who also thought they were just fine.

This looks like a big list, but most of the health screenings can be done during the same appointment.

3 important things to know about health screenings.

If you’re worried about who will have access or be able to see your test or screening results, talk to your doctor before you get screened (like your insurance company, spouse, or parents).
Many people think of blood tests or other types of medical procedures when they hear the word “screening.” That’s true about some health screenings, but others are just questions your doctor asks. It’s important to remember to answer the questions truthfully, so your doctor can give you the right medical advice.
Some of the screenings listed below include the word counseling.
1. The counseling mentioned is not any type of therapy. That’s just the word healthcare providers use when they plan to spend more time talking about a topic with you.

Always tell your doctor if you don’t understand what he or she says or what you need to do. Medical information is hard to understand—for everyone.
Never be afraid or embarrassed to ask questions or talk about your concerns. Ask any questions you have. Tell your doctor if you don’t know or understand how to do something correctly. Your doctor or healthcare provider won’t think any question or concern is silly—and has probably been asked and explained it many times before.
Ask for help. Your doctor or healthcare provider won’t judge you or think badly of you. They want to help you. Your doctor can help you find community resources if you’re feeling overwhelmed or are having a hard time with something (like Zero to Three parent resources or the 988 crisis line); or if you don’t have the things you need to take care of yourself or your family,enough food, a safe place to live, or health insurance (like 2-1-1).
Call your doctor right away if you are worried about something— don’t wait until your next checkup.
Write down any questions you have or things you want to talk about with the doctor, so you don’t forget. Ask for an emailed or paper copy of any information you need.

Adult Immunization Schedule from the CDC

19 - 29 years old / 30 - 39 years old / 40 - 64 years old / 65 years and older / Birth to 18 years

19 - 29 years old

Immunizations

Make sure you’re caught up on:

COVID-19 (Talk to your doctor to make sure you’re caught up.)
Hepatitis A (HepA)
Hepatitis B (Hep B)
Influenza (1 every year)
Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR)
Pneumococcal disease (PCV)

Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
Talk to your doctor if you didn’t get your HPV vaccine as a teenager. You may be able to get it as an adult.
Meningococcal
Adults who may be at increased risk for meningococcal disease or bacterial meningitis, an infection of the fluid around the brain and spinal cord.
Pneumococcal
People ages 2 to 64 years who have diabetes or chronic heart, lung, liver, or kidney disorder and everyone 65 years and older should talk to their doctor to see if they should be vaccinated.
Shingles or recombinant zoster (called Shingrix)
Talk to your doctor if you have a medical condition or take medicine that makes you immunodeficient or immunosuppressed.
Tdap or Td
- Everyone needs another Tdap or Td shot every 10 years.
- Women who are pregnant need a Tdap booster at the beginning of the 3rd trimester of every pregnancy.
Travel-related immunizations
You may also need extra vaccinations if you plan to travel outside the U.S. Find out more information about travel vaccines here.
Varicella (chickenpox)
- If you’ve never had chickenpox or haven’t been vaccinated for chickenpox and are a:
- Family member of someone who is immunocompromised
- Healthcare worker
- International traveler
- Military personnel
- Resident or staff in an institutional setting (like a long-term care facility or jail)
- Teacher of young children and day care workers
- Woman who is in childbearing years, but not pregnant right now (don’t get the chickenpox vaccine if you are pregnant)

Wellness checkup

Get a wellness checkup with your doctor every year.
Start taking a vitamin that has at least 400 micrograms of folic acid (women).
Talk to your doctor about your mental health and how you’re feeling.

Screenings you need every year

Alcohol and substance use screening and counseling
Anxiety, depression, and mental health screening
Dental exam and xrays (every 6 months)
Diabetes screening (A1C test and a blood glucose test)
Eye checkup and vision screening
Family health history
Full body skin checkup to look for suspicious moles or skin lesions that could cause melanoma or other skin cancer
Hearing test
Heart health check (blood pressure, cholesterol, lipid screening)
Interpersonal and domestic violence screening
Measurements of your height, weight, diet, and physical activity
STI screening (chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis C, HIV)
Testicular exam (men)
Tobacco screening and counseling
Women’s health checkup (contraception screening, pelvic exam, urinary incontinence)

Screenings you need every 3 years

19 years old Get screened for prediabetes. Get screened again in 3 years.
21 years old Get a pap test. Get screened again in 3 years.
*You need a pelvic exam every year, but most women only need a pap test every 3 years, unless you are at higher-risk and your doctor tells you to get screened more often.

Other health screenings or health behaviors you need to start at this age:

In your 20s Get your cholesterol checked 1 time between 20-29 years, then wait until age 35 to get checked again.

Take a vitamin with at least 400 micrograms of folic acid.
Both you and your partner should eat healthy foods and exercise as much as possible.
Get a preconception checkupopens in a new tab to make sure your body is ready for pregnancy. If you can, get your checkup from the healthcare provider you want to take care of you during pregnancy. You can get a preconception checkup any time — even up to a year before you want to get pregnant.
Make sure your partner gets a wellness checkup.
Both you and your partner should stop smoking, drinking alcohol, or using drugs as soon as possible.

During pregnancy:

Go to the doctor for a checkup before your 13th weekopens in a new tab of pregnancy.
Go to the doctor at least 13 times during your pregnancy.

Ask a doctor if the RSV vaccine is right for you:

The CDC recently announced that pregnant people can get a vaccine to protect their babies from RSVopens in a new tab. The vaccine can be given if you’re between 32 through 36 weeks of pregnancy and due to have your baby during RSV season (typically October through March). Babies are at high risk for severe illness from RSV because their immune systems aren’t fully developed until they are about 2-3 months of age. The RSV vaccine helps protect your baby from getting sick or needing to be hospitalized. Infants and young children can also be protected with an RSV monoclonal antibodyopens in a new tab.
Call MotherToBaby Utahopens in a new tab at (801) 328-2229 if you have questions about the RSV vaccine while pregnant.

30 - 39 years old

Immunizations

Make sure you’re caught up on:

COVID-19 (Talk to your doctor to make sure you’re caught up.)
Hepatitis A (HepA)
Hepatitis B (Hep B)
Influenza (1 every year)
Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR)
Pneumococcal disease (PCV)

Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
Talk to your doctor if you didn’t get your HPV vaccine as a teenager. You may be able to get it as an adult.
Meningococcal
Adults who may be at increased risk for meningococcal disease or bacterial meningitis, an infection of the fluid around the brain and spinal cord.
Pneumococcal
People ages 2 to 64 years who have diabetes or chronic heart, lung, liver, or kidney disorder and everyone 65 years and older should talk to their doctor to see if they should be vaccinated.
Shingles or recombinant zoster (called Shingrix)
Talk to your doctor if you have a medical condition or take medicine that makes you immunodeficient or immunosuppressed.
Tdap or Td
- Everyone needs another Tdap or Td shot every 10 years.
- Women who are pregnant need a Tdap booster at the beginning of the 3rd trimester of every pregnancy.
Travel-related immunizations
You may also need extra vaccinations if you plan to travel outside the U.S. Find out more information about travel vaccines here.
Varicella (chickenpox)
If you’ve never had chickenpox or haven’t been vaccinated for chickenpox and are a:
- Family member of someone who is immunocompromised
- Healthcare worker
- International traveler
- Military personnel
- Resident or staff in an institutional setting (like a long-term care facility or jail)
- Teacher of young children and day care workers
- Woman who is in childbearing years, but not pregnant right now (don’t get the chickenpox vaccine if you are pregnant)

Wellness checkup

Get a wellness checkup with your doctor every year.
Start taking a vitamin that has at least 400 micrograms of folic acid (women).
Talk to your doctor about your mental health and how you’re feeling.

Screenings you need every year

Alcohol and substance use screening and counseling
Anxiety, depression, and mental health screening
Dental exam and xrays (every 6 months)
Diabetes screening (A1C test and a blood glucose test)
Eye checkup and vision screening
Family health history
Full body skin checkup to look for suspicious moles or skin lesions that could cause melanoma or other skin cancer
Hearing test
Heart health check (blood pressure, cholesterol, lipid screening)
Interpersonal and domestic violence screening
Measurements of your height, weight, diet, and physical activity
STI screening (chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis C, HIV)
Testicular exam (men)
Tobacco screening and counseling
Women’s health checkup (contraception screening, pelvic exam, urinary incontinence)

Screenings you need every 3 years

Pap test (women)
Prediabetes.

Other health screenings or health behaviors you need to start at this age:

35 years old Start getting your cholesterol checked every year.

Take a vitamin with at least 400 micrograms of folic acid.
Both you and your partner should eat healthy foods and exercise as much as possible.
Get a preconception checkupopens in a new tab to make sure your body is ready for pregnancy. If you can, get your checkup from the healthcare provider you want to take care of you during pregnancy. You can get a preconception checkup any time — even up to a year before you want to get pregnant.
Make sure your partner gets a wellness checkup.
Both you and your partner should stop smoking, drinking alcohol, or using drugs as soon as possible.

During pregnancy:

Go to the doctor for a checkup before your 13th weekopens in a new tab of pregnancy.
Go to the doctor at least 13 times during your pregnancy.

Ask a doctor if the RSV vaccine is right for you:

The CDC recently announced that pregnant people can get a vaccine to protect their babies from RSVopens in a new tab. The vaccine can be given if you’re between 32 through 36 weeks of pregnancy and due to have your baby during RSV season (typically October through March). Babies are at high risk for severe illness from RSV because their immune systems aren’t fully developed until they are about 2-3 months of age. The RSV vaccine helps protect your baby from getting sick or needing to be hospitalized. Infants and young children can also be protected with an RSV monoclonal antibodyopens in a new tab.
Call MotherToBaby Utahopens in a new tab at (801) 328-2229 if you have questions about the RSV vaccine while pregnant.

40 - 64 years old

Immunizations

Make sure you’re caught up on:

COVID-19 (Talk to your doctor to make sure you’re caught up.)
Hepatitis A (HepA)
Hepatitis B (Hep B)
Influenza (1 every year)
Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR)
Pneumococcal disease (PCV)
Shingles or recombinant zoster (called Shingrix) at age 50

RSV
People aged 60 and older can get the RSV vaccine. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist to find out if the RSV vaccine is right for you.
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
Talk to your doctor if you didn’t get your HPV vaccine as a teenager. You may be able to get it as an adult.
Meningococcal
Adults who may be at increased risk for meningococcal disease or bacterial meningitis, an infection of the fluid around the brain and spinal cord.
Pneumococcal
People ages 2 to 64 years who have diabetes or chronic heart, lung, liver, or kidney disorder and everyone 65 years and older should talk to their doctor to see if they should be vaccinated.
Shingles or recombinant zoster (Shingrix)
Get vaccinated for shingles at age 50. You should get 2 doses, 2 to 6 months apart. Shingles vaccination is the only way to protect against shingles and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), the most common complication from shingles.
Tdap or Td
- Everyone needs another Tdap or Td shot every 10 years.
- Women who are pregnant need a Tdap booster at the beginning of the 3rd trimester of every pregnancy.
Travel-related immunizations
You may also need extra vaccinations if you plan to travel outside the U.S. Find out more information about travel vaccines here.
Varicella (chickenpox)
If you’ve never had chickenpox or haven’t been vaccinated for chickenpox and are a:
- Family member of someone who is immunocompromised
- Healthcare worker
- International traveler
- Military personnel
- Resident or staff in an institutional setting (like a long-term care facility or jail)
- Teacher of young children and day care workers
- Woman who is in childbearing years, but not pregnant right now (don’t get the chickenpox vaccine if you are pregnant)

Wellness checkup

Get a wellness checkup with your doctor every year.
Start taking a vitamin that has at least 400 micrograms of folic acid (women).
Talk to your doctor about your mental health and how you’re feeling.

Screenings you need every year

Alcohol and substance use screening and counseling
Anxiety, depression, and mental health screening
Dental exam and xrays (every 6 months)
Diabetes screening (A1C test and a blood glucose test)
Eye checkup and vision screening
Family health history
Full body skin checkup to look for suspicious moles or skin lesions that could cause melanoma or other skin cancer
Hearing test
Heart health check (blood pressure, cholesterol, lipid screening)
Interpersonal and domestic violence screening
Measurements of your height, weight, diet, and physical activity
STI screening (chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis C, HIV)
Testicular exam (men)
Tobacco screening and counseling
Women’s health checkup (contraception screening, pelvic exam, urinary incontinence)

Screenings you need every 3 years

Pap test (women)
Prediabetes

Other health screenings or health behaviors you need to start at this age:

40 years old get a fasting blood glucose test. Get screened every year.
40 years old get a mammogram (women). Get screened every year.
45 years old get a colonoscopy. Get screened every 10 years. You may need to get screened earlier if you have a family history of colon cancer.
50 years old If you smoke or were a smoker for 30 years or more get screened for lung cancer.
50 years old Talk to your doctor to find out if you should get screened for prostate cancer (men).

Take a vitamin with at least 400 micrograms of folic acid.
Both you and your partner should eat healthy foods and exercise as much as possible.
Get a preconception checkupopens in a new tab to make sure your body is ready for pregnancy. If you can, get your checkup from the healthcare provider you want to take care of you during pregnancy. You can get a preconception checkup any time — even up to a year before you want to get pregnant.
Make sure your partner gets a wellness checkup.
Both you and your partner should stop smoking, drinking alcohol, or using drugs as soon as possible.

During pregnancy:

Go to the doctor for a checkup before your 13th weekopens in a new tab of pregnancy.
Go to the doctor at least 13 times during your pregnancy.

Ask a doctor if the RSV vaccine is right for you:

The CDC recently announced that pregnant people can get a vaccine to protect their babies from RSVopens in a new tab. The vaccine can be given if you’re between 32 through 36 weeks of pregnancy and due to have your baby during RSV season (typically October through March). Babies are at high risk for severe illness from RSV because their immune systems aren’t fully developed until they are about 2-3 months of age. The RSV vaccine helps protect your baby from getting sick or needing to be hospitalized. Infants and young children can also be protected with an RSV monoclonal antibodyopens in a new tab.
Call MotherToBaby Utahopens in a new tab at (801) 328-2229 if you have questions about the RSV vaccine while pregnant.

65 years and older

Immunizations

Make sure you’re caught up on:

COVID-19 (Talk to your doctor to make sure you’re caught up.)
Hepatitis A (HepA)
Hepatitis B (Hep B)
Influenza (1 every year)
Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR)
Pneumococcal disease (PCV)
Shingles or recombinant zoster (called Shingrix)

RSV
People aged 60 and older can get the RSV vaccine. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist to find out if the RSV vaccine is right for you.
Meningococcal
Adults who may be at increased risk for meningococcal disease or bacterial meningitis, an infection of the fluid around the brain and spinal cord.
Pneumococcal
People ages 2 to 64 years who have diabetes or chronic heart, lung, liver, or kidney disorder and everyone 65 years and older should talk to their doctor to see if they should be vaccinated.
Tdap or Td
- Everyone needs another Tdap or Td shot every 10 years.
- Women who are pregnant need a Tdap booster at the beginning of the 3rd trimester of every pregnancy.
Travel-related immunizations
You may also need extra vaccinations if you plan to travel outside the U.S. Find out more information about travel vaccines here.
Varicella (chickenpox)
If you’ve never had chickenpox or haven’t been vaccinated for chickenpox and are a:
- Family member of someone who is immunocompromised
- Healthcare worker
- International traveler
- Military personnel
- Resident or staff in an institutional setting (like a long-term care facility or jail)
- Teacher of young children and day care workers
- Woman who is in childbearing years, but not pregnant right now (don’t get the chickenpox vaccine if you are pregnant)

Many vaccines are free to those with Medicare Part D drug coverage. Medicare also covers many health screening and preventative services.

Wellness checkup

Screenings you need every year

Alcohol and substance use screening and counseling
Anxiety, depression, and mental health screening
Dental exam and xrays (every 6 months)
Diabetes screening (A1C test, blood glucose test, and fasting blood glucose)
Eye checkup and vision screening
Family health history
Full body skin checkup to look for suspicious moles or skin lesions that could cause melanoma or other skin cancer
Hearing test
Heart health check (blood pressure, cholesterol, lipid screening)
Interpersonal and domestic violence screening
Mammogram (women)
Measurements of your height, weight, diet, and physical activity
STI screening (chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis C, HIV)
Testicular exam (men)
Tobacco screening and counseling
Women’s health checkup (contraception screening, pelvic exam, urinary incontinence)

Screenings you need every 3 years

Pap test (women)
Prediabetes

Screenings you need every 10 years

Colonoscopy. You may need to be screened more often if you have a family history of colon cancer.

Other health screenings or health behaviors you need to start at this age:

Brain health checkup (to check for early signs of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia).
Falls risk assessment.
Have someone check your home and make sure there aren’t things that could make you trip and fall.
Have someone do a check up on the medicines and vitamins you take.

Make sure you know what you’re taking and what it’s for, and any side effects or possible interactions with other medicines.
Call your doctor right away if you feel different than normal after taking new medicine or vitamins.

Osteoporosis check at age 65 (women)
Osteoporosis check at age 70 (men)