Tackling immunosenescence to improve COVID-19 outcomes and vaccine response in older adults
Lynne S. Cox, Ilaria Bellantuono, Janet M. Lord, Elizabeth Sapey, Joan B. Mannick, Linda Partridge, Adam Gordon, Claire J. Steves, Miles D. Witham
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic serves as a potent reminder that older people are at very high risk of adverse outcomes from infectious disease because of comorbidities associated with ageing and decreased immunological competence (immunosenescence). Care home residents are particularly at risk because physiological vulnerability is compounded by cohabitation with other frail adults, increasing exposure and risk of infection. Immunosenescence not only increases susceptibility to disease but also blunts the effectiveness of vaccines1—one of our most powerful tools for preventing infections—with annual influenza vaccinations only 30–40% effective in the most at-risk older populations.