Vaccines especially important for vulnerable older adults
Education, information could boost vaccinations against RSV, the flu and COVID this fall and winter
September 14, 2023
UCI Health family medicine physician Dr. Charles Vega is educating
his patients about the benefits of getting vaccinated this fall and
winter.
IN THE NEWS: Three respiratory virus vaccines will be available for the 2023-24 season, giving an opportunity for broad protection against serious illness.
Vulnerable older adults in particular need the defense the shots offer against COVID, RSV and the flu, says UCI Health family medicine physician Dr. Charles Vega. He spoke to Patient Care about the importance of the vaccine in the senior population.
“I see a lot of frail adults with seven or eight chronic illnesses and medication lists that are 15 to 18 drugs long…We know this virus is something that really attacks the older adults every virus season, with over 170,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths. This is something we can prevent substantially with the application of the vaccine.”
Vega is a professor in the Department of Family Medicine and director of the UCI Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC) at the UCI School of Medicine. His clinical practice is located at the UCI Health Family Health Center ― Santa Ana. Vega has repeatedly been named a Physician of Excellence by the Orange County Medical Association.
Read more
