If you are 75 or older, or 60 to 74 with chronic health problems such as heart or lung disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says you should get an RSV vaccine by early fall. This is a change from last year, when the CDC was less urgent about the vaccine before RSV season and only advised people 60 and older to ask their doctor whether the vaccine for RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) was right for them. However, if you already had your RSV vaccination from last year, you may not need it this year! Check with your doctor on this important vaccination!
Nurse Giving Vaccination.
For most people, RSV typically causes cold-like symptoms. In young children and older adults, however, an infection can be dangerous, even deadly. Adults with chronic heart or lung disease and those with weakened immune systems are also at high risk for complications from an infection.
The virus can cause pneumonia and worsen conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The CDC estimates that RSV sends as many as 160,000 older Americans to the hospital annually and as many as 10,000 older adults die each year from an RSV infection. By comparison, during the 2021–2022 flu season, 52,872 adults 65 and older were hospitalized with influenza, and 4,115 died. Article courtesy of AARP.