Older Aged Population 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."