Booster Dose Reduces The Risk Of Hospitalization For Elderly People

Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : January 27, 2022

The CDC has suggested older adults go for booster shots after taking the required two doses of Covid vaccines. This can give them added protection against the infection and also reduce the risk of hospitalization in many cases.

Booster Dose Reduces The Risk Of Hospitalization For Elderly People

Even when such patients are infected, the chances of severe outcomes are reduced to a large extent among vaccinated individuals.

Booster Dose Reduces The Risk Of Hospitalization For Elderly People

As per the data available from official sources, people over 50 who have not received their Covid vaccines are 17 times more likely to suffer a Covid infection and get hospitalized when compared to the vaccinated individuals.

Similarly, for people in the age group of 50-64, the risk increased by nearly 44 times which shows the benefits of taking vaccines during a pandemic situation.

Unvaccinated patients over the age of 65 were 49 times more likely to get admitted to hospitals during a Covid infection. This puts them in the highest risk category, and such people should immediately get the necessary doses of Covid vaccines.

Even though vaccines are readily available, many people are not willing to take them due to a lot of misconceptions. They are mostly worried about rumors regarding the side effects of vaccines in the long run. On the other hand, a few elders cannot take vaccines due to existing health conditions.

As per the current guidelines of the CDC, people over the age of 12 are eligible for booster shots, and they can take them after a five-month gap from the second dose. When it comes to senior citizens, they can take the vaccines after a one-month gap from the second dose.

While the youngsters have better natural immunity, the elderly suffer from age-related health conditions that weaken their immune systems. For this reason, they need to be given priority when it comes to providing booster shots.

Recent data about hospital admissions across the US have shown that vaccinated people have less need for hospital admission and critical care even in case they are infected. On the other hand, most people currently staying in the ICU due to covid complications have not taken the vaccines, and this should be an eye-opener for those people who have not yet taken the vaccines.

It has been repeatedly proved that there are no side effects of vaccination, and billions of people worldwide have taken the vaccines in the last few months. As of now, nearly 30% of the population in the US has stayed away from vaccination.

This perception has to change in the near future to control future variants. Experts feel that unvaccinated people keep the option open for the virus to mutate regularly into dangerous variants. Due to this reason, it is important to vaccinate everyone in order to avoid further mutation of the virus.

The only good thing so far about Omicron is that it is causing milder symptoms when compared to earlier variants. Most people do not need hospital admission, and the symptoms often subside within a few days without any complications. Even after this situation, many people are getting admitted to hospitals due to negligence in taking the vaccines at the right time.

The booster shots can improve the protection offered by vaccines by some margin. In this manner, elders can get better protection against Covid infection in the near future.

The federal government is also ramping up testing across the country and decided to offer free test kits for Americans from this week. In this manner, people can get tested at home and get immediate results without visiting the test centers.


Nikki Attkisson

With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.

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