As I witness my patients in the last decades of life, I observe that weakening immunity is a major factor for health decline in advanced age seniors. How do we maintain a healthy immune system? In addition to a healthy diet, an active lifestyle, and a diverse gut microbiome, exposure to viruses and vaccines is a main factor. If you lived in a “bubble” away from the organisms around us, you would die quickly.

From a global public health perspective, vaccines have saved more lives than anything else in medicine, even antibiotics. Smallpox has been eradicated. Before the measles vaccine was available, I personally witnessed two young children die from the encephalitis caused by measles.

When a healthy person gets a vaccine such as a flu or COVID shot and gets sick, often the person decides to never get the vaccine again. This is a mistake; the vaccine often gives you a mild version of the illness from which it is protecting you. No one ends up in the ICU on a respirator from a COVID shot; however, during the onset of the pandemic, many who contracted COVID did. Remember when we worried about not having enough respirators? We adapted to the COVID virus through natural immunity and vaccinations.

Getting any vaccine is a boost to your immune system, and you should accept the usually mild side effects as a reflection of its benefits. Because the immune system plays a role in many other health problems, recently discovered benefits from vaccines have been found. Here are the highlights:

Shingles vaccine may reduce risk of developing dementia.

In December, The Washington Post reported findings from earlier that year indicating “that the shingles vaccine cuts the risk of developing dementia by 20% over a seven-year period.”¹ A large follow-up study published in the experimental biology journal Cell found that “shingles vaccination may protect against risks at different stages of dementia – including for people already diagnosed.”²

The American Medical Association’s AMA Morning Rounds reported the research found that “cognitively healthy people who received the vaccine were less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, an early symptomatic phase before dementia.” The study suggests that the shingles vaccine “may help people who already have dementia,” adding that, “those who got the vaccine were almost 30% less likely to die of dementia over nine years, suggesting the vaccine may be slowing the progression of the neurodegenerative syndrome.”³

Recent research on vaccines and cancer treatment

Recent retrospective studies, including one published in Nature, have found an intriguing potential link between receiving an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and improved outcomes for certain cancer patients receiving immunotherapy.⁴

Improved survival. In a study of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma, those who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine around the time they started immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy were twice as likely to be alive three years later compared to those who were not vaccinated.
Immune system “alarm.” Researchers hypothesize that mRNA vaccines act as an alarm, triggering a robust, non-specific immune response that makes tumors more susceptible to immunotherapy drugs.

mRNA vaccines are a new technology, and that makes some people hesitant to get them. I believe they are a significant improvement from older technology, and also provide a technological platform for the development of immunotherapy cancer treatments.

Some people choose not to get vaccines and depend only on a healthy diet, healthy lifestyle and natural immunity. I accept that as a personal choice and only want you to be fully informed.

Dr. Scherger is the founder of Restore Health Disease Reversal in Indian Wells, a clinic dedicated to weight loss and reversing chronic medical conditions. To schedule a consultation, call (760) 898.9663 or visit www.restorehealth.me.

References: 1) https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2025/12/02/shingles-vaccine-slow-down-dementia-progression/; 2) https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)01256-5; 3) https://www.ama-assn.org/about/publications-newsletters/top-news-stories-ama-morning-rounds-week-dec-1-2025; 4) https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03496-5;