This makes a lot of sense because many of the people who died did so because of the sepsis and pneumonia that set in once the lungs were damaged and severely inflamed by COVID. And that lung damage persists long after and can be permanent. (I have severe lung scarring from coccidioidomycosis and subsequent 8 bouts of pneumonia, so am a walking, talking, wheezing example... further exacerbated by COVID and heavily scarred parts no longer have working alveoli)
It is highly possible that having gotten my pneumonia shot at 65 (recommended and free in Canada...SORRY!) was what saved me from being more of a COVID statistic. (My blood O2 dropped, but never enough to go to the hospital)
This is from an MD's post on Daily Kos and I suggest you read it for the summary of the studies:
Pneumonia shots like Prevnar are routinely given to children in a 4 dose regimen between age 4 months and 15 months. They are given to adults at age 65. But they should also be given to adults with problems like diabetes, heart disease, asthma, COPD, smoking, immunocompromise, kidney disease, and liver disease to name just a few. And if we consider fatty liver a chronic liver disease, which it is - up to 33% of adults in the U.S would qualify for a pneumonia shot based on this criterion alone.
UPDATE 1
Thanks to HOS on the main page for this reminder. I add it here as well because it will be quickly lost in a sea of posts whereas here it will remain in the first few pages a long time AND is searchable.
Spring COVID-19 booster shots. Should you get one? And what’s the best timing?
At this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults are having a tougher time when they get a bad case of COVID-19. That’s not surprising because immune systems in older people aren’t as strong as they are in the young, aside from younger people who are immunocompromised. Here are some reasons why medical advisors to the CDC recommended a spring COVID-19 booster shot.
More than half of people who had to be hospitalized for COVID-19 between October and December of 2023 were older than age 65, according to CDC researchers.
Even four years into the pandemic, people continue to die of COVID-19, and people ages 65 and older have a much higher risk of dying of COVID-19 than younger people.
As people get older, the risk of dying from COVID-19 continues to rise. People ages 75 and older were much more likely to die if they contracted COVID-19 than people who were sick with COVID-19 and were 65 to 74 years old.
Fewer people of all ages have been getting the newest COVID-19 vaccines. Among people of all ages, only about 22% of U.S. adults have gotten the 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine, which was reformulated last year to better protect against the newest variants. Older adults have been more likely to get the newest vaccine, with about 43% of people ages 75 and older having received the newest shot, according to CDC data.
Vaccine effectiveness wanes over time, so especially for vulnerable people, it’s great to give the immune system a boost in combating COVID-19 infections.
In Canada, there are pockets of breakouts of COVID, especially in senior's homes
Spring COVID-19 vaccines available April 2 for those at high-risk, as virus kills 2 more
The announcement comes as the virus killed two more New Brunswickers between March 3 and March 9, and hospitalized 21, one of whom required intensive care.
"COVID-19 is circulating in Canada and elsewhere. Getting vaccinated is an important way to help protect against the impacts of the virus," Dr. Yves Léger, the acting chief medical officer of health, said in a statement.