Survey finds seventy-two percent of adults would consider a hypothetical vaccine lowering dementia risk.

Adult vaccination needs vary by age, health conditions, pregnancy status, occupation and prior doses, so clinicians recommend reviewing immunization records and catching up on missed vaccines when appropriate. In the UK, the NHS offers eligible older adults a two-dose shingles vaccine, which helps reduce the risk of the painful infection and its complications. Louisville health officials are urging residents to get a flu shot ahead of the coming season, noting that flu has appeared in local wastewater and can cause severe illness, especially in young children and older adults. Separately, a survey found that 72% of adults aged 50 and older said they would be likely to take a hypothetical, low-cost vaccine that halved dementia risk for high-risk people; no dementia-prevention vaccine is currently approved, and some respondents remained uncertain or opposed.
Clinicians can look for prior vaccination records or use antibody blood tests to check immunity; if records and reliable tests are unavailable, they may recommend catch-up vaccination instead of leaving a patient unprotected.
The NHS says the two shingles-vaccine doses are given six to 12 months apart. People who turned 65 before September 1, 2023, instead become eligible at 70 and can receive the vaccine until their 80th birthday.
Louisville health officials reported more than 17,000 confirmed influenza cases in Jefferson County between September 2025 and September 2026, although current case counts were low.
In the dementia-vaccine survey, 21% of respondents were unsure and 7% said they were unlikely to get the hypothetical vaccine or would refuse it; the authors said uncertainty, rather than opposition, may be the main barrier to uptake. Hesitation was higher among women than men (23% vs. 19%) and among Black respondents (26%).
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