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Data source: VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System)

Data through 2026 · Updated quarterly

Built by TheDataProject.ai · © 2026 VaccineWatch

Important: VAERS accepts reports of adverse events following vaccination. For any given report, there is no certainty that the reported event was caused by the vaccine. Reports may contain information that is incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental, or unverifiable. Most reports to VAERS are voluntary, which means they are subject to biases. This data cannot be used to determine if vaccines cause or contribute to adverse events.

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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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  3. The 65+ Age Group
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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