Immunization has many benefits, especially for older adults. The immune system doesn’t work as efficiently in an aging body, which is why staying up to date with vaccines and boosters can improve protection and overall health. As we age, we are more prone to acquiring viral illnesses — ones that vaccines could prevent.

Viral illnesses, from shingles to Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), are more easily spread and cause complications in unvaccinated older adults with weaker immune systems. Shingles, a viral illness that most people only get once in their lives, affects older adults with weak or suppressed immune systems and often requires hospitalization. Although fewer than 100 people die from this illness annually, almost all of those who succumb to this illness are immunocompromised older adults. Meanwhile, RSV, another viral illness, can be life-threatening, especially to older adults ages 75 and older, those with weak immune systems, those with chronic heart or lung disease, and those living in nursing homes. In the US alone, RSV has caused up to 160,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths in older adults each year.

In an aging world, vaccination will increasingly become crucial for older individuals to stay healthy and enjoy a better quality of life. Despite its importance, there is still a lot of hesitancy surrounding vaccination, especially about people having adverse reactions to it. This is why healthcare professionals must counter vaccine hesitancy and keep older populations protected against vaccine-preventable illnesses. This article provides shingles and RSV vaccine counseling tips for nurses, providing helpful ways for nurses to talk about immunization to people at high risk of these illnesses during National Immunization Awareness Month.

Why National Immunization Awareness Month Matters for Senior Care

Despite immunization’s track record of helping curb the spread of contagious and life-threatening illnesses and preventing millions of deaths around the world, there is still a significant number of people who are hesitant about getting vaccinated. Based on a survey conducted by the Alliance of Aging Research (AAR), out of 1,000 respondents, only 43% are “very confident or somewhat confident” about the credibility of vaccine information provided in online resources. They also observed that older adults who were exposed to COVID-19-related misinformation online were more apprehensive about getting vaccinated.

This National Immunization Awareness Month, senior care nurses can benefit from learning about vaccine hesitancy among older adults to better address it and how to better communicate the importance of immunization. When older adults are vaccinated, they are at a reduced risk of complications and deaths from vaccine-preventable viral illnesses such as shingles and RSV.

Shingrix Counseling: Explaining the Two-Dose Series to Seniors

There’s not a lot of public information about shingles vaccines, which can contribute to older adults being more hesitant about getting it. According to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), awareness of the shingles vaccine among older individuals is lower than awareness of the influenza vaccine.

Shingrix Two-dose Series: Counseling Seniors

Healthcare professionals such as doctors, pharmacists, and nurses can help improve shingles vaccination rates by proactively checking older patients’ vaccination status during visits, giving personalized vaccine recommendations, and scheduling vaccine appointments.

Here are some helpful tips for communicating the importance of getting Shingrix, the vaccine for shingles, to older adults:

• Discuss what shingles is and how it will affect them. Explain to them that shingles is a viral illness that causes a painful rash that can occur anywhere in the body, but typically presents around the left or right side of the torso. Some people may not develop a rash but experience shingles pain, which can be so severe it may be mistaken for problems with the heart, lungs, or kidneys. Other common symptoms include sensitivity to touch, itchiness, fever, headache, and fatigue. Shingles can cause complications in older adults with compromised immune systems, including a higher risk of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), inflammation of different organs, and heart attacks.
• Explain how the vaccine works. Communicating the importance of getting vaccinated with older adults can help address hesitancy. Inform them that the shingles vaccine is the only way to protect against the illness and the symptoms associated with it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults ages 50 and older get two (2) doses of the Shingrix vaccine. It is typically given two (2) to six (6) months apart.
• Discuss efficacy rates. The Shingrix vaccine is more than 90% effective in preventing shingles.
• Set expectations by explaining the vaccine’s side effects. Inform patients that there may be side effects to getting the vaccine, but that they are only temporary. The most common Shingrix side effects include pain, redness, swelling, and itchiness at the injection site, dizziness, gastrointestinal upset, fever, muscle pain, headache, and fatigue. Inform them of symptoms that would require immediate medical attention, such as allergic reactions, difficulty breathing, and fast heart rate. It’s important to emphasize that the side effects are a sign that the immune system is responding to the vaccine, and any temporary discomfort is outweighed by the long-term protection that the vaccine provides.
• Schedule vaccine doses and remind patients. This helps ensure that the patient doesn’t miss their scheduled doses and that the vaccine works as intended.

RSV Vaccine Eligibility: Who Qualifies at 60-74 vs. 75+

RSV has been historically perceived as an illness that primarily impacts children, which is potentially a reason why older adults would not be aware of RSV’s impact on them, especially if they’re immunocompromised.

Nurses can benefit from these communication strategies in highlighting the importance of RSV vaccination to hesitant older adults:

• Inform them that RSV affects older adults, too, not just kids. RSV is a virus that affects the nose, throat, respiratory tract, and lungs, and causes typically mild, cold-like symptoms. When older adults with compromised immune systems and chronic illnesses get RSV, they are more prone to needing hospitalization. RSV can also be life-threatening to older adults.
• Discuss the vaccine’s efficacy. According to a 2026 study, RSV vaccines are found to be 75.3% effective against laboratory-confirmed RSV-positive infections, 76.4% effective against RSV-related urgent care visits, 74.8% effective against RSV-related hospital admissions, and 79.8% effective against severe RSV-associated disease among older adults ages 60 and older. FDA-approved RSV vaccines include Abrysvo, Arexvy, and mResvia.
• Explain who is eligible to get the vaccine. The CDC recommends the RSV vaccine to all adults ages 75 years and older. It is also recommended to adults ages 50 to 74 years old who are at an increased risk of acquiring severe RSV illness, such as those with chronic heart or lung disease, those who are immunocompromised, those who are living in a nursing home, or those who have other underlying medical conditions.
• Explain the dosage. One dose of the RSV vaccine usually protects against severe RSV for up to two years in older adults ages 60 and older.
• List possible side effects. Some of the temporary side effects of the RSV vaccine include pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, fever, headache, nausea, muscle or joint pain, and diarrhea. Similar to the Shingrix vaccine, the protection it provides against severe RSV complications outweighs the temporary side effects patients will experience post-vaccination.