Stephanie Mauro, now 76 years old, has had multiple sclerosis for more than 40 years. In 2020, when COVID-19 first appeared in the United States, her condition had worsened to the point where her pain was excruciating.
“I became so sick I wanted to die,” Mauro says. “I couldn’t move or function at all.”
In Rhode Island, where she lives, she was taken to a hospital parking lot where doctors were seeing patients. For a week she was sent to the hospital’s COVID unit and then transferred to a specially set up COVID nursing home, where she was quarantined for at least another week.
Researchers and scientists were just beginning to learn how the virus was transmitted and how to treat it. No vaccine was yet in existence.
By December 2020, Mauro had recovered and was given one of the first vaccines developed to help the body develop an immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19. Since then, she’s been given every COVID booster shot recommended.
“As we age, there’s a natural decrease in the effectiveness of our immune systems to fight off viruses,” says Dr. Jeffrey Kopin, chief medical officer of Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital. “If you’re older, you may get a more severe infection than a younger person would, especially if you have an underlying chronic condition.”
While vaccines don’t prevent older adults from getting viruses, they do help to keep the illnesses from becoming serious and life-threatening.
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Why COVID-19, Flu and RSV Vaccines Are Important for Older Adults
Illnesses like COVID-19, influenza (flu) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are all respiratory viruses that spread through droplets and virus particles released into the air when an infected person breathes, talks, coughs, sneezes or laughs.
Many of the symptoms are similar, including cough, fever, runny nose, congestion and fever. These illnesses can affect the tissues and organs that help you breathe.
Because aging affects your immune system, older adults are more likely to contract these respiratory illnesses, making vaccinations and boosters all the more important for the following reasons:
— Vaccines strengthen the immune response. Vaccines trigger your immune system to produce antibodies that linger in your body and help it remember and fight off germs when they invade your system.
— Vaccines protect against serious illness. Older adults who have not been vaccinated are at higher risk for severe outcomes such as hospitalization and even death. As you age, inflammation in the body increases, making you more vulnerable to illness.
— Underlying health conditions. Chronic conditions — like heart disease, obesity and diabetes — can strain an immune system already weakened by age.
— Certain settings increase exposure. Older adults sometimes find themselves in communal living facilities like nursing homes, where they live together in close quarters and where illnesses spread quickly.
“Vaccinations don’t always prevent illness, but there is a great deal of evidence that they keep older adults who get vaccinated from getting very ill compared to those who don’t get vaccinated,” Kopin says.
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1. COVID-19
COVID-19 is an infectious respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that appeared in December 2019. It has caused millions of deaths and long-term health problems around the world. Some people develop only mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, but the best way to protect yourself is to be vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that people 65 years and older are most disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Because of weakening immune systems, older adults are more likely than younger people to get seriously ill.
In severe cases, COVID-19 can lead to respiratory failure, lasting lung and heart damage, nervous system problems, kidney failure or death, making it strongly advisable for older people to get vaccinated on a regular schedule.
COVID-19 vaccination schedule for older adults
Older adults should generally get two doses of the COVID vaccine six months apart.
Because the virus mutates, it’s important to get new vaccines when they become available. Protection from previous COVID vaccines also decline over time, so getting updated booster shots is important.
Normally, it takes a few weeks for your body to build immunity after getting a COVID-19 vaccination.
If you’ve had COVID recently, you should wait for three months until you get your next booster.
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Efficacy of COVID-19 vaccine
Now in its fifth year, COVID-19, the subvariants of the Omicron strain, continues to cause infections in the U.S. The vaccines, which have been updated every year since 2022, have been effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalization and death.
CDC data shows that those who were vaccinated with the updated vaccine were 54% less likely to get COVID-19.
2. Influenza (Flu)
Influenza is a common, highly contagious seasonal respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus that infects the nose, throat and lungs.
The flu starts more quickly than the common cold, and symptoms like fever, body aches and chills are more severe.
In some older adults, it can lead to pneumonia, increased risk for heart attack, stroke and other serious conditions.
Older adults are also more likely to have chronic underlying conditions like diabetes that make them more susceptible to developing flu complications. Potentially severe complications from flu include encephalitis or inflammation of the brain, sepsis, inflammation of the heart muscle, muscle tissue inflammation and organ failure.
The CDC estimates that between 50% and 70% of seasonal flu-related deaths and between 50% and 70% of seasonal flu-related hospitalizations occur in adults 65 years and older.
The best way to prevent the spread of the flu and serious complications is through vaccination for everyone, but especially for older adults who are at high risk.
Flu vaccination schedule for older adults
Every year, the flu vaccine is updated to keep up with the virus strains that researchers expect to be most prevalent in the upcoming flu season, which usually peaks from December to February. Immunity against a flu virus decreases over a year, so it’s important to be vaccinated every year.
For older adults, specially formulated high-dose vaccines that contain four times more antigen than the regular flu shot are recommended for enhanced protection from severe illness. Because it usually takes about two weeks for the vaccination to become effective, you should try to get your yearly shot by the end of October.
Immunity may decrease more rapidly in older adults, so it’s especially important that they not get their vaccinations too early, like in July and August. If you haven’t gotten your vaccination by the end of October, you should still get it as soon as possible.
Efficacy of flu vaccine
Depending on how well the flu vaccine matches circulating strains, vaccination efficacy can change from year to year. Usually, it ranges from 40% to 60%, and although it may be less, you should still get a shot to reduce your risk of serious illness.
“This year the flu vaccine has been less effective than in other years, but it’s always best to be vaccinated because it still improves your body’s ability to fight off infection and reduce severe complications,” says Dr. Kenneth Koncilja, an internal medicine physician and geriatrician at Cleveland Clinic.
3. RSV
RSV is a common, contagious respiratory virus that affects your lungs and breathing passageways. It usually causes mild cold-like symptoms, but when it travels to the lungs and respiratory tract in older adults, it can cause life-threatening complications like pneumonia, bronchitis, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.
According to the CDC, every year between 60,000 and 160,000 older Americans are hospitalized for RSV, and approximately 6,000 to 10,000 people die from the virus.
RSV typically begins in the fall and peaks during the winter.
RSV vaccination schedule for older adults
If you are over 60, you should speak with your physician about whether you should get an RSV vaccination.
Thus far, the vaccination is recommended for a single dose that appears to last for at least two RSV seasons. The best time to be vaccinated is in late summer or early fall before the virus begins to spread in the community.
The RSV vaccination was first administered in 2023, and there aren’t yet any current recommendations for booster shots.
Efficacy of RSV vaccination
According to the CDC, RSV vaccines are between 77% and 79% effective in preventing emergency department visits and between 79% and 83% effective in preventing hospitalizations in adults 60 years of age and older.
“The efficacy of the RSV vaccine is better than we originally thought it would be, but since it was first used only two years ago, not enough people are getting it and it’s really too early to tell,” Koncilja says.
Bottom Line
Older adults often experience age-related weakened immune systems and are more likely to have other chronic health conditions. As a result, vaccines become an important part of staying as healthy as possible.
COVID-19, flu and RSV vaccines are safe and effective. They can prevent you from getting seriously ill or dying. Unless someone has a specific allergy to some component of the vaccine, the benefits of getting vaccinated hugely outweigh the risks. To prevent these viruses, you should consult with your doctor, who will help you stay up to date on when and how often to get them.
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COVID, Flu and RSV: Why Older Adults Need to Get Vaccinated originally appeared on usnews.com
