Report Finds Fewer Older Adults Are Vaccinated for Flu Than 5 Years Ago

A report published by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics found that “the proportions of older U.S. adults vaccinated against influenza in the previous year and those ever vaccinated against pneumonia were lower in 2024 than in 2019.” CIDRAP has the news.

The authors of the report wrote that “older adults face higher risks of certain diseases because immune systems tend to weaken with age,” and the “majority of deaths from flu and pneumonia occur in adults age 65 and older.”

The “percentages of older adults who received a flu vaccine in 2023 and who ever were vaccinated against pneumonia were lower in 2024 (67.1% and 64.7%, respectively) than in 2019 (70.5% and 67.0%, respectively).” Flu vaccination rates were “lowest among adults aged 65 to 74 years (62.6%) and higher among those aged 75 to 84 (71.9%) and 85 and older (75.3%).”

White adults were also “more likely to have received a flu vaccine (68.0%) than those who were Black (63.2%) or Hispanic (61.7%). The proportion vaccinated against flu rose with increasing family income as a percentage of the federal poverty level (FPL), from 57.9% in people with incomes less than 100% FPL to 73.6% in those with incomes of 400% FPL or higher.”