Why People Aged 65 and Older Should Get a Spring COVID Vaccine
Older people are particularly vulnerable to COVID and should get another vaccine against the disease this spring, doctors say
Even if you got a COVID-19 shot last fall, the spring shot is still essential for the 65 and up age group.
Jasmin Merdan/Getty Images
The following essay is reprinted with permission from 
The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research.
In my mind, the spring season will always be associated with COVID-19.
In spring 2020, the federal government declared a nationwide emergency, and life drastically changed. Schools and businesses closed, and masks and social distancing were mandated across much of the nation.
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In spring 2021, after the vaccine rollout, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said those who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 could safely gather with others who were vaccinated without masks or social distancing.
In spring 2022, with the increased rates of vaccination across the U.S., the universal indoor mask mandate came to an end.
In spring 2023, the federal declaration of COVID-19 as a public health emergency ended.
Now, as spring 2024 fast approaches, the CDC reminds Americans that even though the public health emergency is over, the risks associated with COVID-19 are not. But those risks are higher in some groups than others. Therefore, the agency recommends that adults age 65 and older receive an additional COVID-19 vaccine, which is updated to protect against a recently dominant variantand is effective against the current dominant strain.
Increased age means increased risk
The shot is covered by Medicare. But do…
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