FDA Signs Off On New Booster COVID-19 Vaccines

Close up shot Covid vaccine dose

Great news!  With the threat of a new wave of COVID-19 coming, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just signed off on two new booster shots, one from Moderna and one from Pfizer/BioNTech.  The mRNA vaccines have been updated to teach the body to fight the XBB.1.5 Omnicron subvariant of the coronavirus and other closely related strains that are circulating.  The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will make recommendations for their use—they are scheduled to meet tomorrow.  After the CDC director signs off on those recommendations, the vaccines can be administered.  Therefore, they could be available in pharmacies in just a few days. 

FDA Approves A New At Home Test For Both Flu And COVID

An Influenza vaccine liquid and the injections

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first-ever over-the-counter test that can detect both the flu and COVID-19.  Unfortunately, this comes just two days after the company which developed the test, Lucira Health, filed for bankruptcy.  Lucira cited the lengthy process the FDA put them through to get the final approval.  The test works by taking a nasal swab and then you receive the results in only 30 minutes.  The test is meant to be used by people 14 and over or by an adult collecting a sample by someone 2 years or older.

COVID Going On Three Years Now, We Still Need Our Booster Shots

Close up shot Covid vaccine dose

Unless you are just getting over COVID-19 (in which case you can wait three months from the onset of symptoms, according to the CDC), make sure you get your booster shots on schedule.  Other than getting all of your vaccinations, there are a few lifestyle changes which can boost your immune system.  Not smoking, not drinking excessively, exercising regularly and following a healthy diet,” according to infections disease expert Dr. Lawrence Liverornese, chairman of the department of medicine at Main Line Health System, can boost your immune system, he told AARP Bulletin.  COVID-19 can also cause other problems—older adults are six times more likely to suffer a heart attack within a week of catching the flu.  Also, make sure to get your flu shot, although do know that this is not 100% protection (there are more than 200 viruses out there, and vaccinations can’t cover every one of them).

Medicare Fraud Rose Dramatically During COVID

Close up shot Covid vaccine dose

A new internal report revealed that new channels of Medicare fraud opened up during the COVID pandemic.  This was due in large part to meet newly emerging health care needs of older Americans which left the program vulnerable to falsified billings.  In just one example, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a study in September that said it had already detected potentially fraudulent billings related to telehealth from more than 1,700 health care providers.  This translated to a loss to the government of $128 million.  In California, a federal jury convicted Mark Schena, the president of a Silicon Valley medical technology company, of a conspiracy to bilk Medicare and private insurers out of $77 million.  They marketed a COVID test not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and paired it with other expensive tests.  Also in our state, health-testing laboratory owners Imran Shams and Lourdes Navarro face charges of defrauding Medicare out of $214 million.  They used COVID testing as a pretext to add on expensive and unnecessary respiratory pathogen tests while paying illegal bribes to medical marketers for directing doctor’s orders to their labs.

It’s Official : Covid-19 Booster Is Effective Against Omicron-19

Group of older people showing thumbs up

Pfizer and BioNTech recently released research which found that the new booster generates a strong immune response against the Omicron-19 variant.  Better late than never I suppose—I have already gotten mine.  But hopefully the research will prove to those skeptical against getting vaccinated at all.

Link Between COVID-19 And Alzheimers And Dementia Found

A new study, which was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, found that there were seven new diagnoses of Alzheimer’s disease for every 1,000 seniors who had a documented case of COVID-19 in the past year, compared to five new diagnoses for every 1,000 who did not. However, Heather Snyder, VP of medical and scientific relations at Alzheimer’s Association, played down the study.

“The pandemic presented serious delays for individuals seeking out medical diagnoses like Alzheimer’s, meaning these results could be driven by those who already had Alzheimer’s when they were infected but had not yet sought out a formal diagnosis,” Snyder said.

Dr. Elezer Masliah, director of the Division of Neuroscience at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging, said there is evidence that COVID-19 could trigger cognitive impairment.  One step in finding out would be to follow people at risk for Alzheimer’s after a COVID-19 infection over the long term, tracking biomarkers found in the blood and doing brain scans.

Imagine how many millions of people over the age of 60 or 65, like myself, have had COVID.  Say 5% of them or 10% of them or even 1% of them are at risk,” he said.  “Wow.  We’re looking at a lot of people in the next few years that might add to the already very large epidemic that we have,” he added.

https://www.prevention.com/health/memory/a41284960/study-daily-multivitamin-use-linked-to-improved-brain-function/

Low COVID-19 Vaccination Rate Chops Two Years Off Life Expectancy Rate in The U.S.

cargiver brushing senior lady's hair - carmel ca in home personal care

In 2020, most countries posted a huge decline in life expectancy as COVID-19 boomed.  Many countries have shown signs of recovery, but not in the U.S. according to a study published in Nature Human Behavior.  Researchers said seven nations in Western Europe showed a significant increase in life expectancy in 2021.  However, the U.S. reported the third-largest decline in life expectancy, closely behind Bulgaria and Slovakia.  More than two years have been cut off the average life expectancy between 2019 and 2021 in the U.S., when it fell from 78.86 years in 2019 to 76.60 years in 2021.  The study attributed much of the decline in the U.S. to an extremely low vaccination rate compared with Western Europe.

Link Between COVID-19 And Alzheimer’s And Dementia Found

A new study, which was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, found that there were seven new diagnoses of Alzheimer’s disease for every 1,000 seniors who had a documented case of COVID-19 in the past year, compared to five new diagnoses for every 1,000 who did not. However, Heather Snyder, VP of medical and scientific relations at Alzheimer’s Association, played down the study.

“The pandemic presented serious delays for individuals seeking out medical diagnoses like Alzheimer’s, meaning these results could be driven by those who already had Alzheimer’s when they were infected but had not yet sought out a formal diagnosis,” Snyder said.

Dr. Elezer Masliah, director of the Division of Neuroscience at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging, said there is evidence that COVID-19 could trigger cognitive impairment.  One step in finding out would be to follow people at risk for Alzheimer’s after a COVID-19 infection over the long term, tracking biomarkers found in the blood and doing brain scans.

Imagine how many millions of people over the age of 60 or 65, like myself, have had COVID.  Say 5% of them or 10% of them or even 1% of them are at risk,” he said.  “Wow.  We’re looking at a lot of people in the next few years that might add to the already very large epidemic that we have,” he added.

 

Flu and COVID-19 Booster Vaccinations In Salinas November 2

Group of older people showing thumbs up

Make your appointment now by calling 646-4931 or 646-5050 to get your flu shot and COVID19 booster vaccination.  Alliance on Aging has teamed up with the Visiting Nurses Association (VNA) to provide them at The HUB which is located at 236 Monterey Street in Salinas.  Bus passes and Taxi vouchers are available if transportation or parking is an issue please ask about them when you call.  They will be provided from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 2.

COVID-19 Remains A Leading Cause Of Death, Especially Among Seniors

A blue color poster on COVID -19 Corona Virus Disease

There have been over 200K COVID-19 deaths this year, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of death certificates.  And that number may be low, because other studies have shown that the cause of death in many COVID-19 cases have been blamed on pre-existing conditions.  Most of the deaths are in older people with underlying health conditions and compromised immune systems.  “I don’t think people realize that this is still a big deal,’ the daughter of a man by the name of Mark Pfundheller who died at the age of 66 despite having the vaccine and a booster, told the Wall Street Journal.  About 85% of deaths from COVID_19 through mid-August were among those 65 and older.