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Important: VAERS reports alone cannot determine if a vaccine caused an adverse event. Reports may contain incomplete, inaccurate, or unverified information. Correlation does not equal causation.

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The 65+ Age Group in VAERS

Adults 65 and older represent 20.1% of all VAERS reports but account for a disproportionate 56% of death reports. Understanding why requires context.

56%
of all death reports come from the 65+ age group, despite being only 20.1% of total reports

Why the Elderly Are Different

The 65+ age group has 398,940 VAERS reports with a mortality rate of 3.9% — significantly higher than the overall rate of 1.4%. Several factors explain this disparity:

  • Higher baseline mortality: Older adults have higher rates of death from all causes. Events that coincide temporally with vaccination are more common.
  • Comorbidities: Chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer are more prevalent, increasing vulnerability to any health event.
  • Flu and COVID-19 campaigns: Annual influenza vaccination and COVID-19 boosters mean elderly adults receive more doses, creating more opportunities for temporal associations.
  • Nursing home reporting: Deaths in long-term care facilities are more systematically reported to VAERS, especially during COVID-19.

Hospitalization Patterns

57,201 reports for the 65+ group involved hospitalization, a rate of 14.3% compared to the overall rate of 7.2%. Again, this reflects the higher baseline hospitalization rate for older adults, not necessarily vaccine-caused events.

The Denominator Problem

Without knowing how many doses were administered to people 65+, we cannot calculate true adverse event rates. The elderly receive a disproportionate share of certain vaccines (influenza, pneumococcal, shingles, COVID-19 boosters), which inflates their raw report numbers.

Key Takeaways

  • 1.Adults 65+ account for 56% of death reports despite being 20.1% of total reports
  • 2.Higher baseline mortality and comorbidities drive higher serious outcome rates
  • 3.Systematic reporting from nursing homes inflates elderly report counts
  • 4.Per-dose rates (which VAERS cannot provide) are essential for meaningful safety comparisons

Related Analysis

Age Patterns in VAERS
Full age group analysis
Understanding Death Reports
What death reports mean