Older adults are especially vulnerable to severe complications from flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and COVID-19. Protect your older patients against severe flu and flu-related complications, and reduce stress on healthcare system, by giving the flu vaccine.1,2 Learn more about how to help protect your older patients from RSV through vaccination, and from COVID-19 through vaccination and early treatment.1-3 Information on COVID-19 prevention and treatment can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website and from trustworthy medical societies such as American College of Physicians (ACP), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) websites.
Download the factsheet for more information on the risks of flu among older adults.
Download this factsheet for more information on the risks of COVID-19 among older adults.
Adults age 65 years and older are at greater risk of severe complications from influenza than younger adults, due both to their increased likelihood of having chronic conditions and to the decline of their immune systems with aging.2
Seasonal influenza vaccination is the best way to prevent influenza, but vaccination coverage among people age 65 and older in the United States has generally lagged below 70.0%, reaching the highest rate in 2020–2021 at ~75%.4
However, in the 2021–2022 season, the coverage rate among people age 65 and older declined to 73.9%, and in the 2022–2023 and 2023-24 seasons, the coverage declined further to less than 70%.5
Ensure that your high-risk older patients are vaccinated against flu by using the information, tools, and resources provided by 65+ FLU DEFENSE.
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Flu and people 65 years and older. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/65over.htm. Published September 5, 2024. Accessed October 14, 2025. 2. National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Call to action: Reinvigorating influenza prevention in US adults age 65 years and older. https://www.nfid.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/flu-65.pdf. Published September 2016. Accessed October 14, 2025. 3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preventing seasonal flu. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevention/. Published September 26, 2025. Accessed October 14, 2025. 4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Flu vaccination coverage, United States, 2020–2021 influenza season. https://www.cdc.gov/fluvaxview/coverage-by-season/2020-2021.html. Published September 3, 2024. Accessed October 14, 2025. 5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Flu vaccination coverage, United States, 2021–22 influenza season. https://www.cdc.gov/fluvaxview/coverage-by-season/2021-2022.html. Published September 4, 2024. Accessed October 14, 2025.