Get your vaccines this fall or talk to your health care provider about what vaccines are right for you.
A recently published study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found adults ages 65 or older are at increased risk for COVID-19 associated hospitalization and other severe outcomes. The CDC found people over 65 accounted for 62.9 percent of COVID-19 associated hospitalizations, 61.3 percent of intensive care unit admissions, and 87.9 percent of in-hospital deaths associated with COVID-19 hospitalizations. Unfortunately, the study also found that less than 25 percent of people over the age of 65 who were hospitalized for COVID-19 were up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines.
Similarly, the CDC estimates that approximately 90 percent of influenza-related deaths and 50-70 percent of influenza-related hospitalizations occur in people over the age of 65. The CDC states that these findings add to the growing body of evidence on the importance of older adults getting their annual flu vaccine.
Lastly, older people are at increased risk from RSV, and the CDC recommends adults 60 years and older talk with their health care provider about whether RSV vaccination is right for them.
UMB recommends every person follow the CDC’s recommendations for the COVID-19, flu and RSV vaccines. However, as the above research illustrates, older people are at greater risk from COVID-19, influenza, and RSV. If you are in this age group, please get your vaccines this fall or talk to your health care provider about what vaccines are right for you. If you have family or friends in this age group, please encourage them to get vaccinated or talk to their health care provider. Their life may depend on it.
On campus, you can get your flu vaccine through the University of Maryland Campus Health. Click here to schedule your flu vaccine online.
COVID-19, flu and RSV vaccines also are readily available from health care providers across the United States. To find a provider in your area, please go to one of the following government vaccine locator websites: