The biggest concern with skipping your annual flu shot in your 60s is a higher risk of getting so sick with the flu that you’re hospitalized. A data analysis of the 2023-2024 flu season released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in February found that adults 65 and older who got their annual flu vaccine were up to 51% less likely to visit a doctor because of the flu, and 42% less likely to be hospitalized with flu. Meaning, those who didn’t get their shot had a much higher risk of getting sick enough to see a doctor or even to be hospitalized with the virus. People of any age can die from the flu, but deaths from the virus are largely concentrated in people who are 65 and older. The CDC estimates that between 70 percent and 85 percent of seasonal flu-related deaths happen in people 65 and older.
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Why Can You Get Severely Ill With the Flu if You Skip Your Flu Shot?
“What the flu vaccine does is it turns a bad infection into a milder one” he adds. “It helps keep you out of the hospital, ICU and the cemetery."
It’s crucial to get your annual flu vaccine because the immunity you get from your flu shot wanes over time, and new variants circulate each season, Dr. Russo says.
But while many doctors suggest getting your flu shot by Halloween, Dr. Schaffner says this isn’t a hard date. “It’s just the best time to get a vaccine,” he says. “Try not to push it off much farther than that. A vaccine deferred is usually a vaccine not received.”
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Sources:
Dr. Thomas Russo, MD, professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New YorkDr. William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of MedicineThis Season's Flu Vaccines Reduced Flu Medical Visits and Hospitalizations Across All Ages. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. February 29, 2024Flu and People 65 and Older. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. September 5, 2024Influenza. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. July 15, 2025Aging Changes In Immunity. U.S. National Library of MedicineHence then, the article about what happens if you skip your annual flu shot in your 60s was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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