If you’re like me, your kids are back at school, the leaves are starting to turn colors and its finally getting cool at night. Unlike me, you’re probably not yet thinking about cold and flu season, but there are some things you can do now to get ready. This is especially important if you or a loved one suffers from chronic heart or lung disease such as COPD, asthma, congestive heart failure (CHF), heart attacks, or diabetes. Risk of hospitalization, death and disability are very high, especially for adults over age 65 with these conditions.
Respiratory infections, including pneumonia, influenza (flu), COVID 19, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) are leading causes of missed school and work, doctor visits, hospitalizations, and even death. While young people are more likely to miss school and work, very young (infants) and older Americans are more likely to suffer severe illness, hospitalization and death. I’ll focus her on Americans over age 65.
While there is some debate about how aggressively we should encourage things like vaccinations, masks, and social distancing, particularly among those who are young and healthy, there is no debate in the medical community about the importance of these things for the elderly with chronic conditions. While young people carry most of the infections, and may be at risk of missing school and work, it’s our older friends and family, particularly those with chronic conditions, who are likely to get sick enough to be hospitalized or even die. Here are some facts to consider:
So, what can you do now to protect yourself and loved ones? If you or your loved one is at high risk, get vaccinated. COVID 19 and Flu vaccines are available for just about everyone. Pneumonia vaccines are available for those under 5 and over 65 and those with chronic heart or lung disease, diabetes, and other conditions. RSV vaccine is for infants and pregnant mothers, adults over 75, and those over 60 with chronic heart or lung disease, diabetes, or weakened immune system. If you or your loved one has COPD, asthma, heart failure, or diabetes then all of these vaccines are very important.
Additional Facts About common respiratory infections
Pneumonia
The leading cause of pneumonia remains bacterial pneumococcal pneumonia. Estimates of pneumonia are as high as 1 million older adults hospitalized with pneumonia per year causing 100,000 deaths during hospitalization, and leading to over 300,000 deaths (1 of 3) within a year of admission.
RSV
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is increasingly recognized as an important cause of severe respiratory disease in older adults. In the United States, an estimated 60,000–160,000 RSV-associated hospitalizations and 6,000–10,000 RSV-associated deaths occur each year among adults aged ≥65 years.
Influenza
Each year in the United States, seasonal influenza, or flu, kills more than 36,000 people and hospitalizes 200,000 more. The flu sweeps through communities, creating an epidemic. Seasonal flu outbreaks are an unfortunate mainstay of the late fall and winter. Each year, up to 1 in 5 Americans are laid low by the flu.
COVID 19
The number of deaths from COVID-19 in 2023 was 76,446 (68.9% lower than the 245,614 deaths in 2022).
1- https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/12/well/live/man-flu-sickness-symptoms.html?smid=url-share
2 - Arnold FW, et al.. Older Adults Hospitalized for Pneumonia in the United States: Incidence, Epidemiology, and Outcomes. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2020 May;68(5):1007-1014. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31916246/
3 - CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7240a2.htm#:~:text=Introduction,%E2%89%A565%20year s%20(1).
4 - NIH website: https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/nih-turning-discovery-into-health/influenza#:~:text=Each%20ye ar%20in%20the%20United,people%20and%20hospitalizes%20200%2C000%20more.
5 - Resp-Net Dashboard: https://www.cdc.gov/resp-net/dashboard/