A lot of people all over the world look forward to spending New Year's Eve at Times Square. A large crystal ball is dropped from the top of One Times Square at the stroke of midnight every year to mark the beginning of the New Year and the passing of the Old. Along with the dropping of the ball at midnight, the confetti shower that follows has become an indelible part of New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square.
As the confetti falls from the sky, it is easy to wonder what it represents. Does it carry with it the hopes and dreams of the people below? Is it a symbol of the fresh start that the new year brings? Or is it simply a playful and celebratory gesture?
There are plenty of things to be stressed about but staying healthy this holiday season shouldn’t be one of them.
There are many ways to protect yourself and your family during celebrations and gatherings. According to Kaiser Permanente, there are three tips for safely celebrating this holiday season:
1. GET THE UPDATED COVID-19 BOOSTER AND FLU SHOT.
Both the Covid-19 booster and flu shot give greater protection during the winter months.
If there’s one thing, we all know, it’s that taking care of our poor and indigent is the right thing to do. Laguna Honda Hospital, which operates as a skilled nursing facility, is being threatened to be shut down by federal officials due to the lack of inspections, which resulted in two nonfatal drug overdoses at the hospital.
Often, when America reflects on childhood summers, nostalgic images of a full day of swimming, the smell of a tent or cabin at camp, or the hours children spend playing in the neighborhood, savoring the feeling of doing nothing, even when nothing feels like something. Unfortunately, what’s often lost in the nostalgia is how those moments are only available to a select segment of America as more and more families are supported by one or two adults who work 40+ hours a week. 2 out of 3 children live in households with parents in the workforce. For families with children who are too young to stay home alone and care for themselves, childcare is hard to find and often unaffordable. This requires parents to make difficult decisions on using income to purchase necessities, such as food, clothing, and shelter, to find childcare that keeps children safe (Novoa, 2018).
The Center for American Progress analyzed data and estimates that the average family will spend approximately 20% of their income or more than $3,000 on summer programs for two children each summer. Furthermore, if the typical summer lasts between 10-12 weeks each year, these costs represent a significant share of their budget. Additionally, parents often cannot utilize paid time off to care for their children during this time, as 40 percent of all Americans lack paid vacation time. Furthermore, grandparents are often not an option either, as many in the Boomer generation are still working. This often places children in low-quality childcare options or no childcare at all during the summer, which impacts families long-term (Novoa, 2018).
A sporadic disease called monkeypox, a much less severe cousin of smallpox is spreading worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, more than 250 cases have been reported in 16 countries. Experts say it is spread by close and prolonged contact with an infected individual.
In the United States, the first case of monkeypox in 2022 was diagnosed in a patient hospitalized in Massachusetts who had recently traveled to Canada in private transportation. In 2021, two people traveling from Nigeria to the US were diagnosed with the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC said that cases in other parts of the world than Africa are typically linked to international travel or imported animals infected with pox.
Several cases of monkeypox reported in the UK have been among people who had no known travel or contact with others, but there is no cause for alarm, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Thursday on CNN's "New Day."
"At this time, we don't want people to worry," Murthy said. "These numbers are still small; we want (people) to be aware of (the) symptoms, and if they have any concerns to reach out to their doctor."
Coachella is back with an anticipated crowd size of up to 750,000 throughout the festival. And concertgoers are mask less for the most part, social distancing is not on anyone's mind and audience crowds sing their favorite songs together. It's hard to believe that only two years ago, public health officials were urging church congregations to limit singing activities to help stop the spread of COVID-19. For many, the return to Coachella is the first sign that COVID-19 restrictions are either gone or non-existent for the first time in over two years. And, as we all breathe a deep sigh of relief and enjoy each other's company, lurking in the back of many minds is a simple question. Is the pandemic really over? And who decides that it's over?
As we celebrate the one-year milestone of the COVID-19 crisis, a gift to all of us has been developing and implementing the COVID-19 vaccine from manufacturers Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson. While a segment of Americans throughout the country are scheduling appointments and rolling up their sleeves, vaccine hesitancy prevents a portion of the population from receiving their vaccines.
The American Journal of Preventive medicine defines vaccines hesitancy as concerns about the decision to vaccinate oneself or one's children due to a broad range of contributing factors such as their compulsory nature, their coincidental temporal relationship to adverse health outcomes, and a lack of trust in the corporation and public health (Daniel Salmon, 2015). Vaccine hesitancy was a concern for public health experts even before the COVID-19 pandemic, as it primarily impacted the influenza vaccination rates in elderly and minority populations. A report from the AARP Public Policy Institute shared that nearly half of adults aged 50 and older are vaccine-hesitant. Another 11 percent of this population never get vaccines, and that the relationship with previous vaccination behaviors is an indicator of what people can expect with the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC's 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System showed that 53 percent of adults ages 50 and older received a flu shot in the previous year. Still, there were notable differences in the population. For example, Black (47 percent) and Hispanic (43 percent) older adults receive flu vaccines at rates below their White (55 percent) counterparts (McSpadden, 2021).
Next month, Californians will reach the one-year mark since the initial COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. As we all endure the remaining weeks and months ahead to stop the spread and reduce deaths until we are all vaccinated, many individuals continue to suffer both emotionally and economically. For many individuals, financial stress may be new, and the pandemic's length has made even financially stable families insecure due to the complexities involved with a quarantined society. If you are unsure if you qualify for benefits, there is a brief questionnaire to consider your available options. Additionally, we have provided an updated list of resources available to help people during this difficult time.
In December, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for the Centers for Disease Control provided a vaccination implementation strategy that will roll out in phases or TIERs throughout the nation. The CDC recommends that in phase one, distribution is prioritized for healthcare personnel, long-term care facility residents, individuals with an underlying medical condition, including autoimmune conditions, and 70 or older individuals. These recommendations will proactively decrease the number of COVID-19 related deaths, preserve society's functioning, and reduce the extra burden COVID-19 is having on individuals already facing disparities. However, these are recommendations only and each state has its vaccination implementation strategy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020).
The COVID-19 pandemic shifted 88% of organizations worldwide to mandate remote work in 2020. As many individuals are beginning to turn their attention toward 2021, employees who went abruptly from working full-time in an office setting are beginning to wonder what will happen in 2021 (Marinova, 2020)? Nearly two-thirds of U.S. workers working remotely during the pandemic would like to continue full-time after the pandemic or adjust to a hybrid schedule integrating working in the office and at home (Brenan, n.d.).
