As everyone knows, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a public health — and societal — crisis of epic proportions. The impact has been especially severe on older adults, who are more likely to be severely affected by COVID, and who represent a distressingly high proportion of the U.S.’s COVID deaths.
But, in an amazing feat of scientific achievement, COVID vaccines were developed in truly record time, and as of Spring 2021, a large-scale vaccination campaign has been rolled out in the U.S., with healthcare workers and older adults being prioritized for vaccination.
This doesn’t mean everything will be back to normal very soon. But vaccination is what will enable us to eventually pull out of the danger and disruption the pandemic is causing.
Although it’s exciting to see COVID vaccination start to take place in the U.S., it also raises a lot of questions for people. This article summarizes what I think is most important for older adults and families to know about coronavirus vaccination.
In particular, I want to offer science-based information to help with common questions, such as “Which COVID vaccine is better for seniors?” or “Which COVID vaccine for a 90-year-old?”
I’ll also cover vaccine safety, and what we know so far about how effective these COVID vaccines are in older adults.
Latest Updates:
Here is a video update from March 26, 2021: [Read more…]