WP Perspectives – October 11, 2022

Still Don't Have Your Flu Shot? Get it Now!

Flu can be serious even in healthy people. Some people are at higher risk of serious illness if they get the flu:

• people aged 65 years and older,
• young children, especially those under 2 years of age,
• pregnant people, and
• people with medical conditions like asthma, diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, or neurologic conditions.

- Some experts are predicting a significant increase in flu cases this season in the U.S. and have expressed concerns about a surge in both flu and COVID-19 infections this winter.

- September and October are generally good times to get vaccinated against flu. Though it is ideal to get vaccinated by the end of October, it’s important to know that vaccination after October can still provide protection during the peak of flu season.

● Flu vaccination is recommended every year for everyone 6 months and older. There are a few exceptions.

- For the 2022-2023 flu season, there are three flu vaccines that are recommended for people 65 years and older.

• These are Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent vaccine, Flublok Quadrivalent recombinant flu vaccine and Fluad Quadrivalent adjuvanted flu vaccine.
• This recommendation was based on a review of studies, which suggests that these vaccines are possibly more effective than standard dose unadjuvanted flu vaccines in this age group.
• There is no preferential recommendation for people younger than 65 years.

- Vaccine providers can safely give COVID-19 and flu vaccines without regard to timing. This means patients can get COVID-19 and flu vaccines at the same visit.

VDH/OEPI/DSI 10/4/2022

Equity in service delivery: When patients don’t speak your language

Getting medical care, whether of a routine or urgent nature, can be stressful for patients at the best of times. When the patient doesn’t speak the language, communication can present an insurmountable obstacle for both the patient and the provider.

Change Your Mindset: Don’t think of interpretation and translation in terms of an expense. The return on investment (ROI) of interpretation and translation services is a smoother communications process and an increase in the quality of service you provide your patients. Plus, it limits your risk, like an insurance policy. Removing the language barrier will improve the patient experience and help ensure your patients feel comfortable getting the care they need. Follow the link below and use these twelve tips to develop your communications plan, You will provide better service and ensure equity in your service delivery.

Read more at When Patients Don't Speak Your Language by Wendy Pease

~Pamela Chitwood, Population Health Community Coordinator  Pamela.chitwood@vdh.virginia.gov  540-484-0292 ext. 223

Monday was World Mental Health Day, an international day of awareness and action to push back against stigma and support mental health. But every day is an opportunity for employers to check in with their people and rededicate their company to their well-being. Here are 7 steps to having a conversation about mental health in the workplace:

1. Start your meetings by asking how your employees are really feeling. Just as it’s normal to say when you’re feeling sick, you want employees to say when their mental health isn’t doing so well. The more often you have these conversations, the easier they are for everyone.
2. Do some active listening. Put down your phone, close the laptop and give your full attention. Resist the urge to break an uncomfortable silence — your employees are likely to fill that awkward space with how they’re actually feeling.
3. Share observations with care and concern. Gently point out behavior that has changed or that has you concerned, then ask if they’d like to talk or how you can help.
4. Ask open-ended questions. Example: “I see that you are under a lot of pressure with this project. What are you doing to cope with stress and how can I help?”
5. Discuss next steps. Those might be connecting your employee to professional care, or maybe just making a plan for follow-up conversations.
6. Set up an open-door policy. No one is going to come through that door if you don’t reach out first.
7. Encourage team members to check in on each other. Just remember, this is in addition to your check-ins, not to replace your initiative.

Have you noticed a change in some folks since the pandemic? Read about Pandemic Personality below.

Epidemiology is the science at center of public health.

Boost the Booster

• Covid-19 boosters could prevent about 90,000 US deaths this winter, but only if more people get the shots, a new analysis suggests. The study, published recently by The Commonwealth Fund, said if booster vaccinations continue at their current pace, the nation could see a peak of more than 1,000 Covid-19 deaths per day this winter. On average, there are now more than 400 daily Covid-19 deaths in the US, data shows. About two-thirds of the US population is fully vaccinated with at least their initial series, according to the CDC. But only about a third of the population has received a booster dose. CNN 10/5/22
• One month since the new COVID-19 boosters became available, it appears the main obstacle to getting more shots into arms is that people simply don’t know about them.
  • New polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that half of U.S. adults (51%) have heard “little” or “nothing at all” about the updated boosters — those that were specially formulated for the newer Omicron variants that are causing most current cases of COVID-19.
  • The CDC recommends that all vaccinated people ages 12 and up get the new booster — and yet 2 in 5 poll respondents said they weren’t sure if the updated booster is for them.

  People haven’t rejected the new boosters; they just haven’t heard about them. 

  In fact, the polling shows a correlation between hearing about the booster and getting it: across age groups, hearing “some” or “a lot” about the new boosters corresponds to higher rates of uptake or plans to get the new booster as soon as possible.  Health Action Alliance 10/7/22

• Don't skip right to the booster. The highest level of protection against the coronavirus comes when a person gets the original vaccines authorized in 2020 and then the current bivalent booster authorized in August. The FDA does not authorize the bivalent vaccines as a replacement for the primary series. The bivalent booster contains components targeting the original version of the coronavirus and the omicron variant. Experts worry that the highly transmissible omicron variant could put people with underlying medical conditions and the elderly at risk of developing severe complications associated with the coronavirus in the fall and winter, which is why people should start the primary doses if they've never been vaccinated.  Washington Post 10/3/22

Other October observances this week:

• Global Handwashing Day (Oct 15)
• National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day (Oct 15)
• World Food Day (Oct 16)