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Few things play a larger role in maintaining senior health than vaccinations; yet, many seniors still go without important immunizations every year. Influenza, or the flu, alone is responsible for over 30,000 mortality events and hundreds of thousands of senior hospitalizations annually. Pneumonia causes between 350,000 and 620,000 hospitalizations in the 65+ age bracket every single year, with most cases occurring in fall and winter. Alarmingly, the vast majority of flu and pneumonia-related complications affect those over age 65.
Whether you are at an assisted living facility in Seattle, living on your own in San Francisco, or doing live-in care in Orlando, fall weather brings fall stuffy noses, colds, and fevers every year without fail. Between September and February, seniors are far more likely to contract everything from the flu, to COVID-19 to shingles, RSV, meningitis, and pneumonia. That’s why Immunization Awareness Month was created, and August was chosen as the annual reminder date.
Seniors typically account for the lion’s share of contracted preventable diseases, primarily because they are the most at-risk population for illnesses that target weakened immune systems. Yet, CDC data from 2024 still shows only about 66.7% — or two-thirds — of seniors are immunized against the flu, and only around 60.6% are vaccinated against pneumonia.
The importance of preventative medicine can’t be stressed enough, especially when it comes to common, high-risk illnesses that affect seniors. Avoiding entirely preventable illnesses can extend seniors’ longevity well into their golden years, with their health intact. Your doctor can help you decide which vaccines are right for your unique health needs and conditions.
The CDC has released an easy-to-read vaccine schedule, organized by age group and risk category, to help seniors and caregivers figure out exactly what’s needed this year.
Important Vaccines for Seniors
| Influenza | You should get the flu vaccine every year. |
| Tdap | You should get the Tdap vaccine renewed every 10 years, starting immediately. |
| Shingles RSV | You should get this initial shingles vaccine at age 50. |
| Shingles ZVL | This shingles vaccine should follow up your initial vaccine at age 60. |
| Pneumonia | It is incredibly important to receive both pneumonia vaccines once you are age 65+. |
| Meningitis | Meningitis vaccines are primarily based on your overall health, doctor consultation is needed. |
| Chickenpox | You should get this vaccine if you didn’t receive it as a child. If you were immunized as a child you can safely disregard it. |
| Hepatitis A | Hepatitis A and B vaccines are only required under specific health circumstances, your doctor will let you know if |
| Hepatitis B | See Hepatitis A. |
| HPV | You should get the HPV vaccine if you suffer from heart, lung, liver, spleen, or kidney issues. |
| Measles | The MMR vaccination is important if you suffer from heart, spleen, or kidney issues. |
At Abacus Life, we’re not just focused on physical wellness—we want you to have the tools you need for financial wellness too. If you have a life insurance policy you no longer need—or can no longer afford—you may be able to sell it for a lump sum of cash through a life settlement. Learn the value of your life policy through our policy value calculator.
Abacus Life Settlements is a leader in the secondary market for life insurance, and our primary mission is to help you clearly understand your financial options. If you decide that selling all or a portion of your life insurance policy is the right move, we can make a fair market value offer to purchase it.
We’ll walk you through exactly how we determine the value of your policy and the details of our offer. If you choose to move forward, you’ll receive a lump sum payment—and we’ll take on all future obligations of the policy, including premium payments.
In addition to our industry-leading Term Rescue and Premium Finance Rescue programs, we also offer a Simplified Intake Process, which means less paperwork and fewer signatures than you’ll typically find with other life settlement companies—making the process quicker and easier for you. Call (800) 561-4148 today.
