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The Vaccine Doctors Say Seniors Should Get Before The Holidays

Wellness Wednesday is sponsored by Intermountain Health

If your holiday plans include gathering with older and younger generations, there's something seniors should do beforehand.

Dr. Kristen Dascomb is the medical director for infection prevention at Intermountain Health, and was involved in a CDC study showing how a new vaccine can protect seniors from RSV.

"It was run by the CDC, but several large organizations including Intermountain in Utah participated, contributing data to really demonstrate how our patients, our Utah folks responded to the vaccine and how did it, how did it work in a real-world situation?" said Dascomb.

Intermountain was a key part of a massive national study on the effectiveness of a vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, just approved in 2023.

"What it shows is that by administering the vaccine to those over 60 you can actually prevent ER visits and hospitalizations by up to 80 percent," said Dascomb.

Specifically, vaccine recipients, over 60 years old were 80 percent less likely to be hospitalized and 81 percent less likely to have a critical illness, meaning a stay in the ICU and even death.

The study included tens of thousands of patients in 8 states and it's timely because RSV strikes hardest as the holidays approach.

"It is unfortunately more common than we suspect, and it occurs at a time when we all want to just be together healthy. And so, this is an easy and inexpensive way to really prevent these significant complications that can contribute not only to immediate health concerns, like going to the hospital and having these consequences or long-term health concerns such as the consequences of being hospitalized at that age. It can be very traumatic and very traumatic to the family as well." said Dascomb.

The vaccine is inexpensive and widely available at doctor's offices and pharmacies. Plus, it's likely effective for years to come since RSV doesn't mutate like the flu does.

So this holiday season, if you don't want to look at your grandchildren or grandniece and nephew as a little time bomb that's gonna get you, getting the RSV vaccine is the thing to do.

"I think it preserves healthy time with your family It's an easy way to get a really good security to be able to spend quality time with your family at a time when it could be risky," said Dascomb.

Smith's Providing COVID Vaccine To Seniors Starting Jan. 20

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Smith's Food & Drug announces that it has obtained a limited supply of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and will begin administering inoculations to senior citizens 70+ years and older at all Nevada Smith's Pharmacies starting Jan. 20.

Those seniors desiring the vaccine will need to make an online appointment with their local Smith's pharmacy starting Jan. 19 byclicking here.

Vaccine doses will be provided at no cost to patients.

Individuals interested in receiving the vaccine can expect their appointment to be as fast and simple as getting an annual flu shot—reserve an appointment online, receive your vaccination from a licensed healthcare professional and wait 15 minutes after receiving the vaccine to ensure the absence of any mild side effects.

RELATED: Where to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in Las Vegas

With 45 pharmacies throughout Nevada, Smith's presence in local communities provides the unique ability to efficiently administer the vaccine.

It is anticipated that Smith's will expand the vaccine distribution to the general public as government directives make the vaccine available to additional groups.

Throughout the pandemic, Smith's has remained an industry leader in offering at-home and free drive-through COVID-19 testing solutions. Supported by its team of experienced healthcare providers, Smith's has assisted Kroger in conducting over 250,000 COVID-19 tests nationally since April.

Kroger also continues to offer free COVID-19 testing to all Smith's frontline associates.

Virus Spreading In China Raises Concerns In The United States

CINCINNATI (WKRC) — A virus rapidly spreading in China is also circulating in the United States, causing concern among health experts. While many people may attribute their cold-like symptoms to common respiratory illnesses, Dr. Brad Sobolewski of Cincinnati Children's Hospital warns that a different virus, human metapneumovirus, could be the culprit.

"It's often described as a goopy wheeze," said Sobolewski, an emergency medicine specialist. "It's like a turbulent noise that you hear when a kid breathes out, but also that junky sound of a lot of mucus."

Human metapneumovirus is similar to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and primarily affects children 5 years old and younger, Sobolewski said. However, adults, especially older adults, can also become very sick from it.

Dr. Charles Eger, principal investigator at Velocity Clinical Research, said, "There's three licensed RSV vaccines currently. This would be the first vaccine to fight this cousin virus called human metapneumovirus, that typically attacks seniors, so this will be the first in human to combine the two in our clinical trial."

While symptoms of human metapneumovirus are largely indistinguishable from other respiratory illnesses, the virus is spreading rapidly in China, raising concerns about a potential pandemic similar to COVID-19.

In most cases, symptoms last about two to five days with good hydration, rest, and sometimes home suctioning. However, if symptoms worsen, medical attention is advised.

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