Vaccines are vital tools to protect against infectious diseases, especially for adults. The shingles vaccine lowers the risk of illness by 90% for people over 50 years old, and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) shot reduces hospitalizations by nearly 70 percent for seniors. Research increasingly shows these vaccines, and others like flu and COVID shots, defend seniors against other bad health outcomes you may not expect.
Recent studies suggest that the shingles vaccine may lower seniors’ risk of developing dementia. Older adults immunized against the flu are much less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke, and face a much lower chance of being hospitalized for heart failure. COVID-19 vaccines may significantly lower the risk of long COVID.
Full Story: MedPageToday, Harvard Health
