----------------------------------------
From CIDRAP 2-3-26:
Large share of older US adults haven’t had a recent flu or COVID vaccine, poll finds
By Laine Bergeson,
"Despite a severe influenza season and rising COVID-19 activity this winter, 42% of adults ages 50 and older remain unvaccinated, according to a new University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging. The survey also highlights gaps in understanding the vaccines’ ability to reduce the risk of severe illness.
"The poll, conducted from December 29, 2025, to January 13, 2026, asked 2,964 US adults ages 50 to 98 about their vaccination status and reasons for not getting vaccinated. Overall, 42% reported that they had not received either a flu or COVID vaccine in the past six months. For 49% of people over 50, it had been more than a year since their last COVID vaccine, and 15% said they had never been vaccinated against COVID.
"In total, 29% said they had received both vaccines, while 27% had received just the updated flu shot. The poll findings did not include a margin of sampling error.
"The leading reason people gave for not getting vaccinated was thinking they didn’t need to: 28% of older adults who didn’t get the flu vaccine in the past six months and 29% of those who didn’t get a COVID-19 vaccine in the past year (or ever) cited this as the main reason. This may reflect how people underestimate their personal risk from respiratory diseases or the benefits of vaccination, or both, even as strong evidence suggests that staying current on vaccines helps reduce the risk of severe illness and death in older adults.
"Concerns about side effects and doubts about vaccine effectiveness were the next most-reported reasons for not getting vaccinated: 19% of respondents who didn’t get the flu vaccine and 27% who didn’t get the COVID vaccine cited side effects as the reason, and 18% of those who didn’t get the flu vaccine and 19% who didn’t get the COVID vaccine cited doubts about vaccine effectiveness. Only a nominal number of respondents cited time, cost, or eligibility concerns.
"The poll found clear differences in vaccination rates among different subgroups, with uptake highest among those at greatest risk.
"Nearly half (46%) of adults ages 75 and older (who face the highest risk of severe illness) said they had received a COVID vaccine in the past six months, compared with 37% of those ages 65 to 74 and 20% of those ages 50 to 64. Flu vaccination rates were higher across all age-groups: 76% among those 75 and older, 64% among those ages 65 to 74, and 42% of those age 50 to 64.
"Adults with at least one chronic health condition were more likely than those without such conditions to have received both vaccines, but gaps remained. Nearly four in 10 respondents with chronic conditions (39%) said they had not received either vaccine in the past six months.
"The poll also highlights a group at growing risk: older adults who have never received a COVID vaccine. One in five adults ages 50 to 64 reported never being vaccinated against COVID, along with 12% of those ages 65 to 74 and 7% of those 75 and older.
"Income disparities were also evident. Nearly one in five respondents (19%) with household incomes under $60,000 said they had never received a COVID vaccine, compared with 12% of those with higher incomes.
"Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its recommendation about which adults should receive the COVID vaccine, saying that those ages 50 to 64 who do not have any chronic health conditions that increase COVID risk do not need to be vaccinated.
"This shift didn’t appear to affect decision making around vaccination. Fewer than 1% of respondents who skipped the COVID vaccine in the past year said they did so because they thought they were no longer eligible.
"COVID vaccination is still recommended for most older adults, including two doses a year for everyone 65 and older and for people with compromised immune systems, and one dose a year for higher-risk adults under 65.
"Guidance on flu vaccination did not change. Annual flu vaccination is still recommended for everyone ages 6 months and older, and major medical societies and insurers continue to recommend and cover both flu and COVID vaccines for all adults.
"Helping people understand what vaccination means for them personally may be key to improving uptake among adults 50 and older, says poll director and associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, Jeffrey Kullgren, MD, MPH.
"News coverage often describes vaccine effectiveness using population-level statistics such as percentage reductions in hospitalization or death. But that framing doesn’t always line up with the questions people may care about most: whether vaccination will keep them from getting sick at all or from becoming seriously ill.
“These findings suggest that we must do a much better job helping people in their 50s and up understand that they will benefit from getting these updated vaccines each year, that the vaccine side effects are mild and short-lived, and that even if they later get infected and develop symptoms, vaccination means they won’t get as sick,” says Kullgren in a news release.
"Even when a vaccine isn’t a perfect match for currently circulating strains, a recent dose primes the immune system to respond and may help reduce both the severity and duration of the illness.
"And, Kullgren adds, it’s not too late for anyone to get a flu or COVID vaccine this season."
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment