As we all know, senior citizens are the most likely to be hospitalized or die from the Covid-19 virus -- by a wide margin.
Retired seniors have been far more accepting of vaccines than their working-age counterparts. Their full vaccination rate is about 82%, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Because they’re susceptible to severe illness, even relatively few unvaccinated seniors mean more deaths -- and more crowded hospitals -- than would occur in a larger pool of younger adults.
About 75 million people in the U.S. are 60 and older. Recently, about four-fifths of the nation’s Covid deaths have occurred in that population.
It turns out than among seniors who are not vaccinated, the biggest problem may be access to the vaccine as opposed to opposition to getting the shot.
According to a report in BGov News, “… younger seniors have shown a greater appetite for vaccines than their older peers. Initially, the opposite was true, as governments sent inoculation teams into nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. Recently, the numbers have flipped, adding support to the idea that some elderly residents -- especially those outside structured-living arrangements -- are simply having trouble navigating the system.”
