There are a number of very good reasons to get vaccinated, chief among them the increased immunity vaccines can offer for various viral and bacterial diseases. Now that a nasty flu strain is circulating around the U.S., being up to date on the current flu shot can make a big difference in staying healthy this winter. But it turns out that some vaccines can go above and beyond their intended purposes, especially as people age.
As Paula Span observes in an article for The New York Times, medical professionals are observing “off-target benefits” for older people who are getting vaccines, including a lower risk of dementia. Span writes that some newer vaccines — including COVID-19 and RSV — will need more time to pass before researchers have a concrete sense of what other effects they might have. In terms of more established vaccines, though, the evidence is promising.
A paper published in October 2025 found connections between vaccinations and unrelated cognitive benefits. The study’s authors found that getting a flu vaccine lowered the risk of dementia, while the herpes zoster (aka shingles) vaccine showed evidence of reducing the risk of both dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The study focused on individuals who were at least 50 years of age.
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Two different crises could convergeAs for why these vaccines have shown promise in helping address dementia, one of the authors of the aforementioned paper has an idea.
“We now know that many infections are associated with the onset of dementia, both Alzheimer’s and vascular,” Dr. Stefania Maggi of Italy’s National Research Council told the Times. It’s not strange to think, then, that vaccines that help keep someone healthier overall would also make them less susceptible to infections that can have grim consequences down the line.
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