![]() That became more evident during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when getting vaccinated was their ticket to escaping lockdown and seeing their loved ones, said Bob Blancato, executive director of the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs. "There was never any evolutionary benefit to making old people who are good at fighting off viruses," Hanage said "For most of our history, most of us didn't live that long." Why older Americans want to get vaccinatedĪmericans over 65 are increasingly seeing the value in staying protected against diseases data shows those people are more likely to work and raise grandkids compared with previous generations. The immune system weakens with advancing age, though, and older people often have a worse response to never-before-seen pathogens, like the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, he said. The human immune system evolved to enable most younger children to get mildly ill and then develop immunity when exposed to pathogens. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee.Īlthough "vaccine fatigue" is common after COVID-19 shots and boosters, experts say, many older adults are eager to get immunized – often so they can safely see or care for their grandchildren.ĭiseases like flu and RSV are especially dangerous at each end of life – early childhood and older age, said William Hanage, an expert in the evolution of infectious diseases at the Harvard T. ![]() "We have the opportunity as we never have before to prevent much more disease," said Dr. In addition to the annual flu shot taken by about two-thirds of older Americans every fall and winter, older adults are now encouraged to get a vaccine against the pneumococcus bacteria and a two-dose regimen against shingles.ĬOVID-19 boosters are considered particularly important for those in higher decades.Īnd as of Thursday, people 60 and older are eligible for a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, too. Adults, particularly older ones, are increasingly being encouraged to get vaccines, too. Vaccines aren't just for children anymore.
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