Older Americans are pivotal to the success of the vaccination campaign rolling out across the United States. They are the most likely to be hospitalized and to die from Covid-19, and the least likely to muster a strong immune response to the coronavirus. In some states, nearly 40 percent of deaths from Covid-19 have occurred among residents of nursing homes. That’s why an advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine be given first to the nearly three million residents of long-term-care homes. Other experts on the committee said that all available evidence indicated the vaccine was safe and effective for nursing home residents and older Americans generally.

Source: New York Times December 15, 2020 14:15 UTC