Why is it necessary to improve COVID-19 vaccination coverage in older people? How to improve the vaccination coverage?

Abstract

In accordance with the COVID-19 surveillance data from Hong Kong, over 95% fatal cases were elderly patients aged ≥60 years, and the median age of the dead cases was 86 years in the fifth COVID-19 wave. COVID-19 case fatality rates increased with age, vaccinations offered notable protection against COVID-19 death, and the protection was enhanced as the doses of vaccinations increased. The data fully demonstrated that elderly people were the main group of victims in the COVID-19 pandemic, and the vaccination was a vital weapon against COVID-19 in elderly people. In light of the experience of China’s COVID-19 response, the measures to improve COVID-19 vaccination coverage in older people were shown as follows: dispatching volunteers into residential communities to urge older people to complete COVID-19 vaccinations; ascertaining the vaccination status of elderly people suffering from underlying diseases; mobilizing various public institutions to participate in COVID-19 response; releasing a great deal of news via mass media every day to educate the elderly about COVID-19 prevention and control measures; assisting elderly people in rural and remote areas through drug distribution and emergency reserves.