Vaccines are helping older people more than we knew

NEW YORK – Let us be clear. The primary reason to be

vaccinated against shingles

is that two shots provide 90 per cent 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 RSV is that their risk of being hospitalised with it declines by almost 70 per cent in the year they get the shot, and by nearly 60 per cent over two years.