Starting Out With Vaccination in Older Adults

The immunisations offered from 65 onward, and to younger people with certain conditions.

Key takeaways

• Flu vaccine: annually from 65
• Pneumococcal vaccine: usually a single dose at 65
• Most useful single change: Accept every vaccination you are offered.
• Commonest mistake: Assuming one pneumococcal dose covers you for flu as well.
• See a doctor if any of the signs under "When to speak to a doctor" below apply to you.

Why bother

Infection carries much higher risk with age, and uptake rather than availability is generally what limits protection.

Start here

These two first. Everything else is easier once they are habit.

• Accept every vaccination you are offered
• Ask specifically about shingles and RSV, which people often miss

Then add these

The next additions, when you are ready for them.

• Have the flu vaccine annually; last year's does not carry over
• Ask a pharmacist, who can give several vaccines without an appointment

The numbers, in one place

Common early mistakes

• Assuming one pneumococcal dose covers you for flu as well
• Delaying until an outbreak is underway
• Skipping vaccination because you rarely get ill

Where to go next

• The Evidence on Vaccination in Older Adults, Without the Hype
• Making Sense of Vaccination in Older Adults
• Vaccination in Older Adults — the reference entry
• The Evidence on Frailty, Without the Hype
• Loneliness and Ageing: What Published Guidance Supports

When to speak to a doctor

Call 999 for swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, difficulty breathing or collapse after vaccination. Seek urgent advice for shingles affecting the eye or the tip of the nose, which can threaten sight, and start antiviral treatment within 72 hours of the rash appearing where possible.

Where this comes from

• UK Health Security Agency — immunisation schedules
• NHS — NHS vaccinations and when to have them

How this page was put together

Every figure, recommendation and warning above is taken from the guidance named in Where this comes from. Nothing on this page is inferred, summarised or generalised beyond what those bodies publish: where they give a number, it is their number, and where they are silent, so are we. Pages are rebuilt whenever the underlying record changes. Sign-off by a named clinician, where it has happened, is shown at the top of the page along with the date.

Medical disclaimer

This article is general information, not medical advice. It cannot account for your own history, medication or circumstances. Always speak to a GP, pharmacist or another qualified health professional before making changes that affect your treatment, and never delay seeking medical advice because of something you have read here. In an emergency, call 999.