4 Active Aging Week | SEPTEMBER 12, 2026
PROTECTED WHILE AGING: The Role of Vaccines in Active Aging BY GEORGIA WIEBE
A ctive aging is about more than exercising to stay fit. For older adults, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can also mean taking steps to prevent illnesses that could interrupt daily routines. That is where staying up to date on vaccinations can play an important role. In her 25 years as a community pharmacist at Shoppers Drug Mart, Sonal Bachu Purohit has seen firsthand how vaccines can benefit aging adults. “I strongly believe that for older adults, vac- cines aren’t simply about preventing an infection;
opportunity to sit down with a local pharmacist or healthcare provider to review their vaccination history and get their flu shot. “With my patients too, especially if they’re elderly, you know, transportation is a concern or an issue. We can get several vaccines at the same time during the one visit,” Purohit says. Another point to note is to get reliable informa- tion about vaccines from healthcare professionals instead of solely searching things up online. “Dr. Google is not the most reliable source of information. In our day and age, a lot of people do resort to Dr. Google for information, but the updated information does come from a healthcare provider, such as a pharmacist,” Purohit says. She mentions that even when a vaccinated per- son becomes infected, vaccinations can improve the odds of having a less serious outcome, but they are also not the only thing older adults should focus on as they age. “At any age, your mind is just as important as your body,” Purohit says. “If the mind is healthy, your body’s going be healthy. So physical fitness, nutrition, social connections and outreach are all part of the therapeutic package.” She says no vaccine is 100 per cent effective, but the goal is to substantially reduce the risk of severe illness or disease. “They are a game changer. I’m all about preven- tion rather than being reactive. So let’s prevent, protect and preserve,” Purohit says. n
they’re about preventing the complications that can follow infections; hospitalizations, pneumonia, loss of function, independence and sometimes even death. So that’s why that’s very important,” Purohit says. Her message to patients can be summed up in three words: prevent, protect and preserve. “Prevent serious infections from happening, protect against complications and let’s preserve your independence and quality of a good life,” Purohit says. She says these vaccines can help with, but are not limited to, preventing shingles, influenza, pneumococcal disease and respiratory viruses. “If the individuals are not vaccinated, what they’re at higher risk of are the complications that could be associated with it,” Purohit says. “So it’s not necessarily the severity of symptoms of flu or pneumonia that patients get severely ill from; it’s the secondary complications that arise from it.” As people get older, Purohit says illness can have a greater impact on someone’s ability to par- ticipate in everyday activities, making it important to think ahead and focus on prevention before getting sick. “The symptoms of flu for the elderly are more debilitating than those in younger people. And that’s just because as we start to age, our ability to fight infections does decrease because our immune system is compromised as we start aging.” She recommends using the fall season as an
PHARMACIST SONAL BACHU PUROHIT (L) • SUPPLIED PHOTO
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