Logo Image
|Videos|October 20, 2017

Older Aged Population Disproportionately Affected by Influenza

William Schaffner, MD, discusses how the adults aged 65 and older are disproportionately affected by influenza.

William Schaffner, MD, medical director for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) and infectious disease physician at Vanderbilt, discusses how the adults aged 65 and older are disproportionately affected by influenza, accounting for the majority of hospitalizations each year. Dr. Schaffner stresses that although two-thirds of this population is vaccinated each year, one-third remains unvaccinated, which leaves a staggering 15 million individuals unprotected against influenza; this underscores the need to vaccinate this population "much more comprehensively."

Related to this article

View more
Inhaled Amikacin Shows Low Resistance Rates in MAC Lung Disease in ENCORE
Inhaled Amikacin Shows Low Resistance Rates in MAC Lung Disease in ENCORE
In the phase 3b ENCORE trial, adding amikacin liposome inhalation suspension (ALIS) to azithromycin and ethambutol significantly improved culture conversion in newly diagnosed MAC lung disease, while treatment-emergent amikacin (2.2%) and macrolide (1.1%) resistance stayed rare. Kevin Winthrop, MD, provides insights around the study.
Read more
NFID Survey Finds Respiratory Vaccine Gap Driven by Lack of Clarity, Not Hesitancy
NFID Survey Finds Respiratory Vaccine Gap Driven by Lack of Clarity, Not Hesitancy
The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) recently held its respiratory season kick-off, which included the release of its annual respiratory disease survey. This year, the survey revealed the gap between vaccine support and uptake. Robert Hopkins Jr, MD, medical director of NFID delves deeper into the findings of the survey and the vaccine uptake challenges associated with certain immunizations.
Read more
Pfizer 25-Valent Pneumococcal Vaccine Boosts Serotype 3 Response in Infants
Pfizer 25-Valent Pneumococcal Vaccine Boosts Serotype 3 Response in Infants
Alejandra Gurtman, MD, discussed the phase 2 data at IDWeek 2026 which showed the investigational 25-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine 25vPnC produced serotype 3 antibody levels about 15-fold higher than Prevnar 20 after the booster dose, targeting a serotype still behind 10.6% of invasive pneumococcal disease in US children younger than five years.
Read more
Measles Update: October 23, 2026
Measles Update: October 23, 2026
The latest CDC numbers show a 4.0% increase in measles cases from week-to-week, bringing the 2026 US total to 4588 confirmed cases. Ninety-six percent of cases are outbreak-associated.
Read more
Household Contacts Drive Most Hepatitis B Exposures in Young Children
Household Contacts Drive Most Hepatitis B Exposures in Young Children
Karen B. Jacobson, MD, MPH, of Kaiser Permanente Northern California, presented data at IDWeek 2026 showing 58.2% of children younger than five years exposed to active hepatitis B in the home were exposed by someone other than their birth mother, a risk maternal screening alone would miss under the CDC’s revised birth dose recommendation.
Read more