Vaccines Are Helping Older People More Than We Knew
- David Ojcius
- 13 hours ago
- 1 min read
Many shots seem to have “off-target” benefits, such as lowering the risk of dementia, studies have found.
Let’s be clear. The primary reason to be vaccinated against shingles is that two shots provide 90 percent protection against a painful, blistering disease that a third of Americans will suffer in their lifetimes, one that can cause lingering nerve pain and other nasty long-term consequences.
The most important reason for older adults to be vaccinated against the respiratory infection R.S.V. is that their risk of being hospitalized with it declines by almost 70 percent in the year they get the shot, and by nearly 60 percent over two years.
And the main reason to roll up a sleeve for an annual flu shot is that when people do get infected, it also reliably reduces the severity of illness, though its effectiveness varies by how well scientists have predicted which strain of influenza shows up.
But other reasons for older people to be vaccinated are also emerging. They are known, in doctor-speak, as off-target benefits, meaning that the shots do good things beyond preventing the diseases they were designed to avert.
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