Highlights Summary:
Vaccines have traditionally been valued for pathogen-specific disease prevention, but growing evidence shows that immunization confers broader benefits, including reduced cardiovascular risk, delayed cognitive decline, protection of immune function, improved educational continuity, and substantial economic returns.
Respiratory vaccines against influenza, RSV, and pneumococcal disease have demonstrated cardiovascular protective effects, particularly in older adults. Acute respiratory infections can trigger cardiovascular events through systemic inflammation, coagulation activation, and increased cardiac workload. Among adults aged 50 years and older hospitalized with RSV infection, 24% experienced an acute cardiovascular event, including approximately 10% with no prior cardiovascular disease, indicating infection as an independent risk factor.
Observational studies and meta-analyses show that influenza vaccination is associated with significant reductions in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, especially among adults aged 65 years and older and those with pre-existing cardiovascular disease. Real-world data from Taiwan involving more than 2 million older adults found that seasonal influenza vaccination reduced cardiovascular complications by 39%-47% among individuals aged 65 years and above, supporting the inclusion of influenza, RSV, and pneumococcal vaccines in primary prevention strategies for older and high-risk populations.
Herpes zoster vaccination, including the recombinant adjuvanted vaccine Shingrix, is associated with reduced risks of cardiovascular events, dementia, and all-cause mortality beyond preventing viral reactivation. A large retrospective cohort study published in npj Vaccines in June 2025 found that two AS01-adjuvanted vaccines, Shingrix and the RSV vaccine Arexvy, were independently associated with reduced dementia risk (18% and 29%, respectively), with no significant difference between them, supporting a potential antigen-independent immunomodulatory and neuroprotective role of AS01.
By preventing measles-induced immune amnesia, MMR vaccination reduces vulnerability to secondary infections such as pneumonia and diarrhea, and as a live attenuated vaccine, it may also induce trained immunity, although its population-level impact requires further study. Vaccination also yields substantial educational and economic benefits. Vaccine-preventable diseases are a major cause of unplanned school absenteeism, disproportionately affecting children from low-income families.
We listed the relevant studies here:
[1] Rosen, A. Vaccines do more than prevent disease. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. (2025, November 4). https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/the-health-and-economic-benefits-of-vaccines
[2] Peng, ZY., Hua, YT., Huang, WT, et al. Reduced risks of influenza-associated hospitalization and complications following vaccination among over 2 million older individuals: a nationwide study using target trial emulation framework. BMC Med 23, 157 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-025-03955-w
[3]Benjamin-Chung J, Arnold BF, Kennedy CJ, et al. Evaluation of a city-wide school-located influenza vaccination program in Oakland, California, with respect to vaccination coverage, school absences, and laboratory-confirmed influenza: A matched cohort study. PLoS Med. 2020 Aug 18;17(8):e1003238. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003238.
[4]Maltezou HC, Kontogianni S, Michailidou E, et al. Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination against school absenteeism in children and adolescents hospitalized with COVID-19. Vaccine. 2024 Apr 30;42(12):2941-2944. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.03.075.
[5]Pasco R, Fox SJ, Lachmann M, et al. Effectiveness of interventions to reduce COVID-19 transmission in schools. Epidemics. 2024 Jun;47:100762. doi: 10.1016/j.epidem.2024.100762. Epub 2024 Mar 12. PMID: 38489849.
Content Editor: Xinyue Zhou
Page Editor: Ruitong Li
