As populations age, vaccines have become one of the most underused tools to protect older adults, not just from infection, but from a cascade of health consequences that undermine independence, accelerate decline, and reduce quality of life[1],[2],[3].
Diseases like influenza, pneumococcal disease, and shingles can quickly escalate in older adults, leading to frailty, ICU admission, or even death. Beyond the immediate illness, these infections often trigger a cascade of events, exacerbating chronic conditions, increasing frailty and decreasing independence ultimately cutting lives and the quality of those lives short unnecessarily.
The severity of infections in older adults reinforces the importance of vaccination, but emerging evidence shows that vaccines do more than prevent infections, they may also reduce the risk of serious chronic conditions like heart disease, stroke, and dementia[4],[5].
Infections like influenza, RSV and herpes zoster (shingles) can trigger cardiovascular events due to inflammation and stress on the heart and blood vessels[6]. Preventing these infections may also help reduce hospitalisations, disability, and premature death related to chronic disease.
This new evidence underscores the public health importance of vaccination for older adults as an essential strategy for supporting healthy ageing, particularly as people live longer and face greater risk of multiple chronic diseases.
Maintaining health by preventing infections and managing chronic disease in later life also brings significant socio-economic benefits, which are often overlooked or underappreciated. Many older adults lack strong support systems leaving them more vulnerable to financial hardship, loneliness and social isolation if they become ill[7].
Reducing the risk of serious disease, both infectious and chronic, helps ensure that older adults remain independent and active contributors to society through volunteering, caregiving, community engagement, and continued participation in the workforce.
Despite these advantages, millions of older adults, globally, are not benefitting from vaccines. Barriers due to cost and vaccine availability, public programme eligibility – when programmes exist, public awareness and hesitancy are but a few factors known to impact vaccine uptake[8]. To complicate matters, domestic immunisation policies and programmes have traditionally prioritised childhood vaccinations over adult vaccination.
However, we now have access to vaccines that are more effective in older adults, inducing stronger immune responses. In addition, well established multigenerational vaccination strategies (i.e., cocooning, vaccinating adults and older adults that cohabitate) offer added protection to those most vulnerable to outbreaks and pandemics.
The perception that vaccines for older adults are less critical than those for children is increasingly untenable in a post-pandemic world. Vaccinating older adults strengthens population resilience by reducing vulnerability to future outbreaks or pandemics and chronic diseases.
Preventing severe illness in this age group also eases pressure on emergency services and primary care systems, while lowering hospitalisation rates, freeing up beds, staff, and resources for other critical needs.
To ensure older adults fully benefit from the protection vaccines offer, we need a policy shift that prioritises quality of life, not just disease control. This means moving beyond reactive systems toward proactive strategies that reduce hospitalisations, prevent functional decline, and mitigate compounding harms of severe infections and chronic diseases.
Adult immunisation must be fully integrated into national programmes, with barriers removed, access improved, and public awareness strengthened. Such a shift is both evidence-based and essential in an ageing world.
Authors
Lucie Marisa Bucci MA is a Partner at Bucci-Hepworth Health Services Inc.
Jane Barratt PhD is a Global Advisor on Ageing, Health and Social Policy
Shelley Deeks MD, MHSc, FRCPC, FAFPHM, is Associate Professor in Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University
Craig Thompson RN, BSN, MBA, is a Partner at Bucci-Hepworth Health Services Inc.
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