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Healthy adults who get the flu vaccine may help protect not only themselves but also older adults in their community at higher risk for serious complications from influenza, suggest findings from a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. Based on a national sample of more than 3 million people across eight flu seasons, researchers observed that seniors were up to 21 percent less likely to be diagnosed with flu-related illness if they lived in areas where more adults under 65 were immunized.
In their observational study, the researchers looked at the association between countywide flu vaccination rates for adults age 18 to 64 and illnesses related to influenza among 3.3 million Medicare beneficiaries 65 and older between 2002 and 2010. In counties where at least 31 percent of the 18-to-64-year-old population was immunized against flu, elderly adults had a 21 percent lower chance of being diagnosed with a flu-related illness.
In their observational study, the researchers looked at the association between countywide flu vaccination rates for adults age 18 to 64 and illnesses related to influenza among 3.3 million Medicare beneficiaries 65 and older between 2002 and 2010. In counties where at least 31 percent of the 18-to-64-year-old population was immunized against flu, elderly adults had a 21 percent lower chance of being diagnosed with a flu-related illness.
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