Overview
- Analyzing 3,884 Americans aged 70 and older in the Health and Retirement Study, researchers reported that vaccinated participants showed slower biological aging on average.
- Vaccination was associated with lower systemic inflammation, slower epigenetic and transcriptomic aging, and a lower composite biological aging score, with effects described as modest but statistically robust.
- Some associations persisted at least four years after vaccination, suggesting durable changes in molecular aging measures.
- The study found no significant links between vaccination and blood biomarkers of neurodegeneration or cardiovascular hemodynamics.
- Researchers propose reduced chronic inflammation from suppressing varicella-zoster reactivation as a plausible mechanism and note potential healthy-user bias, underscoring the need for longitudinal and experimental research.