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Older adults and people with certain medical conditions are more likely to receive the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, a new study finds. The report also showed that people in long-term care communities were less likely to receive the vaccine.
Just 1 in 10 older adults who participated in the study had received an RSV vaccine during the first season when RSV vaccines were available, from 2023 to 2024, the data showed. Knowledge and uptake of vaccines was generally low among study participants, according to a report published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open.
People over the age of 75; those with pulmonary disease, immunocompromised status, low or moderate social vulnerability; and those who completed high school were more likely to be vaccinated, the data revealed. RSV vaccination was less likely among residents of long-term care facilities, people who used Medicaid and individuals who didn’t have insurance, the team discovered.
Among participants, 10.4% were vaccinated and 89.6% hadn’t received RSV shots. Among 3,219 unvaccinated adults who responded to RSV questions, 47.2% had not heard of RSV or were unsure about it and 78.5% were not sure if they were eligible for RSV vaccine or thought they were not.
Researchers evaluated data from 6,746 hospitalized adults over the age of 60 from 26 hospitals in 20 states. The information in the report was collected from 2023 to 2024.
RSV vaccines are recommended for all adults ages 75 and older, and adults ages 60 to 74 who have a higher risk for severe RSV, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In June 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of GSK’s Arexvy RSV vaccine in adults 50 to 59 years old.