Boosting Your Holidays with Vaccination Resources

Show Notes

‘Tis the season to sleigh preventable diseases like COVID, Flu, RSV and Pneumonia. In this episode, we’re joined by CEO of Healthy Women Beth Battaglino to discuss the crucial role that vaccination plays in creating a safer, merrier holiday for you and your loved ones. After all, it’s Our Best Shot!

Episode Transcript

Sue Peschin:

Hi, everyone. Welcome to This Is Growing Old, the podcast all about the common human experience of aging. My name is Sue Peschin, and I’m the President and CEO here at the Alliance for Aging Research. Today we’re going to talk with you about why you shouldn’t let preventable diseases like COVID, flu, RSV, or pneumonia ruin your holidays. We know folks may be done with COVID, but COVID isn’t done with us. As we get together with family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers, our risk for infection increases. And if we get sick, we can also spread it around to other people we care about, including people who may not have as strong immune systems as we do. So it’s important that we take preventive measures to protect our own health and the well-being of our loved ones. And what better measure than vaccination?

So today, we are very fortunate to be joined by the President and CEO of HealthyWomen, Beth Battaglino, to discover the crucial role of vaccines in creating a safer, merrier holiday season. As a practicing nurse in maternal/child health and a passionate advocate, Beth is committed to educating and empowering women everywhere to prioritize their health and wellness. HealthyWomen is also a co-convener with the Alliance and the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging of the COVID Vaccine Education and Equity Project, which is an initiative aimed at raising awareness about the importance of COVID vaccination for public health. Beth, thank you so much for joining us today.

Beth Battaglino:

Thank you so much, Sue, for having me.

Sue Peschin:

Absolutely. So tell everyone listening, we’ve been hearing so much about vaccination. Why is it so important for folks to vaccinate before the holidays?

Beth Battaglino:

I think you teased it out really nicely in your opening is that we’re all going to be trying to get together. You’re in closer proximity to people. The heat’s on in the homes as the weather gets colder. And we really need to be careful about people that have weakened immune systems or may be compromised, especially I’m thinking about the role I play as a practicing nurse with bringing little newborns home and then having toddlers and little ones around the house with grandma and grandpa or someone that may be just going through cancer treatments but still want to be part of the holiday celebration and feel good enough.

So it is really important as we head into the holiday season to have the extra shield of protection. And I think just the general reminder about vaccines and the importance of making sure that you’re up-to-date with vaccines and if you haven’t gotten your COVID booster, this is a great time to send in that reminder that it is important. And we do know that it’s very effective in preventing and/or minimizing the symptoms that come along, whether it’s the flu or COVID.

Sue Peschin:

Right. Absolutely. It’s no secret that, and we have our whole campaign, Our Best Shot, and we always say vaccines are our best shot, right, at combating COVID-19, flu, RSV, pneumonia, but a lot of people are reluctant. A lot of people have what everyone’s calling a COVID fatigue. So what are some productive ways, do you think, as a healthcare practitioner, to discuss the importance of vaccines or even for family members to do it within the family? Sometimes you have some folks who don’t believe in vaccines. So how do you talk to folks who are hesitant during this time?

Beth Battaglino:

I think carefully because it’s like that whole Thanksgiving conversation, where you don’t want to bring up politics or religion at the dinner table, but I think it’s an important conversation to have. And I think it’s protecting yourself and your family. And I think if we go at it with that angle, I think that’s the safety zone is where you say, you know what? I need to ask, have you been vaccinated? Okay, if you haven’t, I’m not comfortable because I’ve got so-and-so here, or we just brought home a newborn, or my aunt or uncle is just going through chemotherapy. And they really want to join the event, the family gathering.

So I think there’re tactful ways that we can bring it up without offending. And I think even some of the things that we learned while we were in the COVID bubble, like that’s okay, you do you. If you don’t want to vaccinate, join us after the holidays or join us on Zoom. We’ll bring you in on a Zoom call so everyone can say hello and happy holidays. So I think we need to think about creative ways, but ways that are non-threatening that we can bring up the conversation. Are you vaccinated? If you haven’t, we’re trying to protect our family the best that we can and let’s think about other ways that we can make sure that you’re part of the celebration, but in a careful and mindful way.

Sue Peschin:

Right. Exactly. Having some of those boundaries. I mean, a lot of people, though, are really exposed. I see it all the time on social media with misinformation and then disinformation, where it’s even deliberate, that make people afraid to get the vaccines because they hear this or that. So how can we combat anti-vax falsehoods around the safety of vaccines?

Beth Battaglino:

Well, I think there’re a couple ways. I think one of the best ways is to talk to your healthcare provider. They’re going to be very, very honest with you, and they’re your trusted partner. I think pharmacists are playing such a great role right now. They always have. But I think during COVID and coming out of COVID, they’re playing an even more important role because they’re so reachable, right? We can go in while we’re picking up other things in a pharmacy and talk to the pharmacist to ask, can I schedule? Tell me your thoughts on this. This is when I got my last booster. When should I be getting my additional booster?

And then we also joined, we partnered with Novavax on a great program called Choose to Protect, which has great information. And then the COVID program that both you and I belong to, Sue, the COVID Vaccine Education and Equity Program, has great resources as well for consumers to help them have that conversation with their healthcare provider, understand the new options, and now I’m speaking directly about COVID, the new options in boosters and vaccine options for consumers. So understanding what options are available and then making that decision along with your healthcare provider on what vaccine is best for you is so important.

Sue Peschin:

Absolutely. I mean, I do think, though, that a lot of people feel like we’ve had a huge amount of progress with mitigating COVID for three years now. Why do we still need to worry about it? And I know that you also work a lot around messaging for pregnant women. So I’m just sort of wondering if you could speak to some of this specific to COVID, why do we still need to bother with all of this? What do you say to folks?

Beth Battaglino:

I love that you’re giving me permission to use my nursing hat in this because I think that’s why I learned so much. And I try to share what I’ve learned with other people that I’m working with. And when it first came out, it was a struggle, to be honest, with nurses as well as our patients. During pregnancy, where you’re so careful about what you do, what you put into your body and your mouth, what you’re inhaling, you’re just so hyper careful. And I think asking people to get vaccinated during that time was a hurdle. And we needed to educate ourselves as healthcare providers as well as trying to educate our patients. But fast-forward, a year after that, when the vaccines had been on the market for a year, we saw the results. We saw that the vaccines worked. We saw that patients that were coming in with COVID had minimal symptoms of COVID and were able to function.

And we learned a lot during that year, too, about how the vaccines allow new moms to be with their babies and to recover a lot faster. And I’m sure you saw that too with your patient population, which is aging. And I saw that because we got floated a lot in the hospital, so I would have to go on the med/surg floor, which was a holding ground for patients that were getting knee replacements or hip replacements, so the aging population. And it allowed them to get into rehab a lot quicker.

So the vaccine, no question, it saves lives. We’re seeing minimal symptoms of people come to us and they’re COVID positive. Even this year, I’ve had a couple of patients that have tested positive for COVID, but you wouldn’t even know it, the symptoms were so mild. If they didn’t have a runny nose or found out that someone in their family tested positive, we would’ve never even known that they were COVID positive. And the great thing about this is that there’re new protocols in place. So if they’re in hospitals, if they’re COVID positive, we don’t test unless there’re symptoms. So if they have symptoms, then we can test. But many are not even presenting with symptoms, thank God, because of the vaccine.

And we’ve seen the same with the flu. You may get the flu even if you get the flu shot, but the symptoms and the downtime is minimized versus people that do not get the flu vaccine. So this is just a general reminder that the vaccines work, and it is important, especially if you’re going to be hosting get togethers, if you’re going to be entertaining or going to public places with a lot of people traveling, where you know you’re going to be in a room or airplane or train with a lot of people, protect yourself and more importantly, protect the people that you’re going to be around is so important.

Sue Peschin:

Yeah. Absolutely. I appreciate everything that you’ve said. I know that a lot of the polling has shown, I think, a lot of older people are the ones who are going to get the boosters. They’re sort of sold on it, but not everybody. And people just need to understand that when we expose ourselves to each other that we have just a responsibility to protect each other. And even with things like RSV, I think there’s a real learning curve around it. It doesn’t just happen to little kids and babies. It can happen to older people. So if you are getting together with your grandkids for the first time, they have it, you can get it, or if you have it, you can pass it on to them. And these things are really, so for a day or two, where you might feel a little down from getting it, it’s a very small price to pay because people still are dying from these conditions. And it’s not just symptoms. It can get serious.

Beth Battaglino:

It can get serious and it can get serious very fast. And that’s what we saw in the beginning of COVID. Relatively very healthy people went down very fast, and once they went down, we could not get them back. And I think that just, right there, a quick reminder for people that are vaccine fatigued, remember where we were three years ago and the importance. And we would not be here if it was not for the vaccine. So yes, we may be exhausted about hearing and seeing all the education and the direct-to-consumer commercials, but it’s important to pay attention. And I think RSV, if you’re pregnant, soon to be a mom, the importance of getting that vaccine now before the baby’s here is so important because we know that it can protect that newborn after it’s born for the first few months after delivery. And that is crucial, especially these winter months. I had a winter baby, and you just want to keep them in a bubble.

Sue Peschin:

Cocoon. I know.

Beth Battaglino:

Yeah, it’s crazy. But I think it’s so important. And you think about people that are going to be around you, and if you’re going to have your mother-in-law or your mom come over and help you, or if you’re hiring someone else to come and help you, making sure they’re vaccinated and you’re protecting this new family is so important. And if you’re going to be around aging relatives over the holidays, which many of us are, or you’re living with your mom or dad or part of your household, then making sure you’re protecting them, as well as yourself, is so important. So get vaccinated.

Sue Peschin:

Yeah. And also with the flu, I just want to put in a pitch. For older people, the CDC now recommends enhanced vaccines. So either the high-dose or the adjuvanted vaccine is what you should talk with your doctor about or your pharmacist at the local pharmacy or even your grocery store. And they all have them available now. They’re everywhere. And it’s not too late to get them. And sometimes doctors recommend more than one during the flu season. So definitely talk to your doctor about the flu. All this stuff is important. We know it’s a pain, but for minimal tiny pain, a couple seconds, it can really save lives. So where should our listeners go to get information on where to get vaccinated?

Beth Battaglino:

I would say let’s send them, choosetoprotect.com is a great site. We can send them to our CV organization for more information. So the COVID Vaccine Education and Equity program or organization is a great resource for our listeners and healthywomen.org for more information on your health and wellness and vaccine scheduling.

Sue Peschin:

Absolutely, healthywomen.org, for sure, and then also vaccines.gov. Let’s not forget that, too.

Beth Battaglino:

Love it.

Sue Peschin:

Yep. And then now, I’m going to shift a little bit. We have these closing questions. I’m really curious what your experience will be. So we ask you two closing questions. When you were a kid, what did you imagine growing older would be like?

Beth Battaglino:

When I was a kid, I think growing older, I just thought I was going to be able to live in South Carolina on a beach and do nothing, do whatever I wanted to do, not have any type of itinerary or agenda. That’s what I pictured in my head that I would be somewhere on a beach just being able to do whatever I wanted every day. And I am realizing as I’m growing older, that’s a dream, and I will someday live in South Carolina, but I don’t think it’s ever going to be just doing whatever I want to do every day.

Sue Peschin:

Well, I also think you have way too much to contribute and give. And everybody deserves a rest. You deserve as much time as possible at the beach, but I’m glad that you’re going to keep going.

Beth Battaglino:

Yeah.

Sue Peschin:

So what do you look forward to most about growing older now?

Beth Battaglino:

I’m excited about actually growing older, and I think things have shifted quite a bit from when I was 17 and 18. I’ve just seen these beautiful women age so well and age so smart. I think that’s what makes me excited about growing older is I’m embracing every single chapter and I just want to age smart and age well and be able to play pickleball when I’m in my 80s and still run. I just see these wonderful women that are still doing triathlons and they’re 75 and 78 years old, and I’m like, that just pushes the bar and makes me want to just take care of myself and prioritize my health. And as a general reminder, making sure all women put themselves on the A-list and take care and remind themselves to take care of themselves, which fits so nicely in with the vaccine conversation because we’re always, everyone else comes before us and we put ourselves on the B-list. So it’s a general reminder, ladies, if you’re going to take care of your family, you need to take care of yourself. So get vaccinated and put yourself on the A-list.

Sue Peschin:

Absolutely. Family caregivers, we see you. Go get your vaccines, for sure. Thank you so much, Beth. You’re fantastic. HealthyWomen, it’s fantastic. Thank you for what you do every day.

Beth Battaglino:

Thank you, Sue, and ditto, I feel the same about you and your great organization.

Sue Peschin:

Thank you. And for everybody who’s listening and watching us, thank you for joining us. If you’re interested in listening to more of our, This Is Growing Old podcast, you can find us wherever you get your podcasts. Have a good one. Take care.