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The rate of vaccinations among people 65 years of age and older has declined since 2019 — a personal health challenge for aging Americans and their caregivers and families, and a public health problem for the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics published Data Brief 547 on the situation on January 21, 2026.

In the meantime, serendipity and timing are uncanny in the moment as The Value of Vaccines conversation series from Pfizer was launched this week. I am grateful to have participated in this project with several sisters-in-expertise: Elif Alyanak from Avalere, Venesa Day with Fox Chubby Health Policy Consulting, and Kim Thiboldeaux of the Northeast Business Group on Health, moderated by “Dr. G,” Dr. Geeta Nayyar, author of Dead Wrong: Diagnosing and Treating Healthcare’s Misinformation Illness.

The CDC data clearly illustrates the challenges facing U.S. public and citizen-level health care when it comes to vaccinations and protecting the health of the health of the commons. 

Here’s the simple line-chart data story from the CDC: the fall in older Americans’ uptake of influenza vaccines (the blue line) and decline in pneumonia vaccination among people 65 years of age and older.

It is easy to see that the fall in the flu vaccination rate for older Americans was especially dramatic between 2023 and 2024.

Through a population health lens, we know that older adults face higher risks as immune systems weaken over time, combined with higher levels of co-morbidities such as heart disease or COPD among older people. 

Here are some granular comparisons for influenza vaccination in the past 12 months by older age cohorts, race, and family income in 2024.

The oldest Americans have higher levels of flu vaccine uptake (75.3% versus 62.6%). Those older people with greater household income also have higher rates of flu vaccination than older people with very low income.

Health Populi’s Hot Points:  It was such an honor to participate in the Value of Vaccines Podcast Series collaborating with Pfizer. In our conversations, we brainstormed insights into the current landscape for vaccines and vaccination, and how stakeholders across the health care ecosystem can influence positive change for vaccine-preventable diseases in adults.

Please tune into the four episodes at ValueofVaccines.com. The discussions could not be more timely.

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