Report links COVID vaccination to a newly observed side effect in older adults
A major new study of more than 1 million U.S. veterans found that older adults who received the latest COVID-19 vaccine were significantly less likely to suffer major adverse cardiovascular events. The reduced events included heart attacks, strokes, heart failure hospitalizations, and cardiovascular deaths, which the study used as its primary outcome measures. The result adds to a growing body of research that links routine vaccinations with lower risks of chronic conditions, including studies associating eight vaccines with reduced dementia risk. Because cardiovascular events drive most deaths in older populations, this vaccine-associated reduction changes the vaccines' risk-benefit profile and supports broader vaccination to prevent serious heart-related outcomes in older adults.