(Washington, D.C., Wednesday, October 28, 2020) – Our lives have been turned upside down by COVID-19. We won’t get through this unless everyone takes part in getting a vaccine once it becomes available. It’s also important to get up-to-date on all vaccines, particularly flu and pneumonia which could make COVID-19 even worse.

This short video, created by the Alliance for Aging Research, urges everyone to protect themselves and their families, and to be an example and get vaccinated. It’s Our Best Shot.

Adult vaccination rates in the U.S. continue to be dangerously low, falling far short of national targets, despite the devastating effects vaccine-preventable diseases can have on older adults. The Our Best Shot campaign grew out of recommendations highlighted in the Our Best Shot: Expanding Prevention through Vaccination whitepaper.

Vaccines are one of the greatest success stories in modern medicine. Thanks to vaccines, polio no longer exists in the U.S., smallpox has been eliminated globally, and other serious diseases that were commonplace only a generation ago — such as measles, mumps, diphtheria, and tetanus — are becoming increasingly rare.

The Alliance for Aging Research is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the pace of scientific discoveries and their application to vastly improve the universal human experience of aging and health. The Alliance believes advances in research help people live longer, happier, more productive lives and reduce healthcare costs over the long term. For more than 30 years, the Alliance has guided efforts to substantially increase funding and focus for aging at the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration; built influential coalitions to guide groundbreaking regulatory improvements for age-related diseases; and created award-winning, high-impact educational materials to improve the health and well-being of older adults and their family caregivers. For more information, visit www.agingresearch.org.