# What does "at increased risk" mean in this case? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 9, 2025, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-at-increased-risk-mean-in-this-case/1015338 "2025-03-09T16:56:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-at-increased-risk-mean-in-this-case/1015338/1 "2025-03-09T16:56:03Z")
I just got a text from CVS. It reads: _CVS Pharmacy: Hi [**kaylasdad99**] an RSV vaccine is recommended by the CDC for adults 60-74 at increased risk for severe RSV. Schedule yours here_ (then it gives a link that I won’t be reproducing here) While I am between the ages of 60 and 74, how the hell do I determine if I’m at increased risk for severe RSV? Should I contact the CDC and ask them? And if so, why didn’t CVS tell me this on a day when the CDC is open? And what’s the deal with the 74-year upper limit? Are 75-year olds immune to RSV? Or is the vaccine just ineffective for them? ETA: And it says **adults** 60-74. What about _children_ 60-74? ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-at-increased-risk-mean-in-this-case/1015338/2 "2025-03-09T17:10:11Z")
It is advised for all … humans … who are 75 and over. 60 to 74 with conditions that increase risk. Implied is the idea that if you think your medical condition might place you at increased risk then ask your healthcare provider. Yes you can check the CDC site for their list of conditions but it’s a moderately long list and not everyone would be able to tell by reading it if they are on the list or not. ETA link for your benefit. [RSV Vaccine Guidance for Older Adults | RSV | CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/hcp/vaccine-clinical-guidance/older-adults.html#:~:text=CDC%20recommends%20a%20single%20dose,Moderna's%20mResvia%2C%20and%20Pfizer's%20Abrysvo). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-at-increased-risk-mean-in-this-case/1015338/3 "2025-03-09T17:16:39Z")
Thanks for that comprehensiveImean wide-ranging response. Still waiting to hear about children between the ages of 60 and 74, if anyone wants to chime in. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-at-increased-risk-mean-in-this-case/1015338/4 "2025-03-09T17:32:52Z")
I get that there is no actual FQ here, just snarking on the wording. FWIW the CVS communication lifts the verbiage from the CDC site. The distinction is between the two different groups of adults: those adults 60 to 74 and those adults 75 and over. They are unaware of your emotional maturity. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-at-increased-risk-mean-in-this-case/1015338/5 "2025-03-09T17:33:11Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Still waiting to hear about children between the ages of 60 and 74, if anyone wants to chime in. Elven children? Child_ **ish** _ people ages 60 to 74? ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-at-increased-risk-mean-in-this-case/1015338/6 "2025-03-09T20:23:29Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Still waiting to hear about children between the ages of 60 and 74, if anyone wants to chime in. Children 60-74 months? Seems like a stretch. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-at-increased-risk-mean-in-this-case/1015338/7 "2025-03-10T00:10:44Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > how the hell do I determine if I’m at increased risk for severe RSV? You could ask the [Centers for Disease Control](https://www.cdc.gov/rsv/hcp/clinical-overview/index.html) They list a whole bunch of increased risk factors, including but not limited to chronic heart disease, chronic lung disease, end-stage renal failure, and neurological conditions that may impair breathing. OTOH, if you’re in pretty good health with no long-term problems, you probably aren’t at “increased” risk. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-at-increased-risk-mean-in-this-case/1015338/8 "2025-03-10T20:42:33Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Still waiting to hear about children between the ages of 60 and 74, if anyone wants to chime in. I would think anyone in that age group who still has living parents could be called ‘children’. I know that when I was in my 60’s, my mother in her 80’s still considered me her child and still told me what to do! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-at-increased-risk-mean-in-this-case/1015338/9 "2025-03-10T22:57:38Z")
It’ _is_ a shame that English has no good word for “immediate descendants who are now adults” that doesn’t sound contrived or archaic. I did know a woman who referred to her one adult offspring as, well, Offspring. They had a great parent-adult child relationship, but both were … eccentric. So IMO plain old “offspring” has been tried and doesn’t fill the bill.