The Health Advocates discuss the reasons behind lagging vaccination rates for the COVID-19 bivalent booster in the United States, new vaccines on the horizon for RSV, and strategies that can help improve immunization rates.

"The ability for pharmacists to deliver and provide vaccines is important. It's much easier to go to a pharmacy. Oftentimes you don't need an appointment. It's not as scary, you know, for anything else as going to a doctor's office. It's not as intimidating,” says Steven Newmark, Director of Policy at GHLF. “And now they're also able to provide COVID vaccines, and in some jurisdictions, they're even able to provide routine immunizations as well. So that definitely helps."

Among the highlights in this episode:

1:59: As of today, only 15.3% of Americans have received the updated booster

3:20: A recent online study published by the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) found that the most common reasons for people not getting a bivalent booster were lack of awareness about eligibility (23.2%) or of vaccine availability (19.3%) and overestimations of their own existing immunity from previous vaccines or infections (18.9%)

3:50: “The lack of awareness about eligibility or vaccine availability is so high… It shows that we live in a little bit of a bubble, because to my mind, I see notices everywhere,” says Steven Newmark

4:13: “I went home to New Jersey a few weeks ago, and I did notice a lot more signage about COVID compared to here in Nashville… If you go into a pharmacy, of course, there are signs about shots available here but it's not broadcasted. We don't have a subway system for example [in Nashville] and that's where a lot of signs are in New York… Here's my bubble,” says Zoe Rothblatt, Associate Director of Community Outreach at GHLF

5:34: “I think that we have to consider where we're putting messages that we're meeting people in their everyday life, and not creating an extra burden. Because often, health care can feel like a burden, especially for people with chronic illness. But I think it's just about getting the right messaging out in the right places,” says Zoe Rothblatt

5:52: After participants [to the MMWR survey] were given information on eligibility and availability, 67.8% of those who hadn't gotten a booster said that they would pursue one; a survey one month later showed that 28.6% of these participants had actually done so

7:14: In the latest episode of Healthcare Matters (episode 7), hosts Dr. Robert Popovian and Conner Mertens discuss the enhanced role of pharmacies in the overall immunization process in the U.S. and how important of an access point pharmacies are for people

You can listen to the episode via the link below: https://ghlf.org/healthcarematters/#episode27

8:22: The FDA is considering a shift in COVID-19 strategy: moving away from requiring two shots of the original vaccine in order to be able to get the updated bivalent booster and to adopt instead a strategy similar to the annual flu shot where people could simply get whatever the latest version of the vaccine is annually

9:18: For immunocompromised patients, the FDA would recommend two annual doses of the shot

9:28: “Myself like many had to hold my regular injections that treat my arthritis and Crohn's for the COVID shot, so doing that [booster shot] twice [annually] is a huge setback in health,” says Zoe Rothblatt

11:02: There is no vaccine yet to prevent RSV, although there is a medicine that can help protect some babies at high risk for severe RSV disease (it is very costly and requires monthly injection), and another is in development for infants that would last for the whole season

12:41: What our hosts learned from this episode

Contact Our Hosts

Steven Newmark, Director of Policy at GHLF: snewmark@ghlf.org

Zoe Rothblatt, Associate Director, Community Outreach at GHLF: zrothblatt@ghlf.org

We want to hear what you think. Send your comments in the form of an email, video, or audio clip of yourself to thehealthadvocates@ghlf.org

Catch up on all our episodes on our website or on your favorite podcast channel.

The Health Advocates discuss the reasons behind lagging vaccination rates for the COVID-19 bivalent booster in the United States, new vaccines on the horizon for RSV, and strategies that can help improve immunization rates.
"The ability for pharmacists to deliver and provide vaccines is important. It's much easier to go to a pharmacy. Oftentimes you don't need an appointment. It's not as scary, you know, for anything else as going to a doctor's office. It's not as intimidating,” says Steven Newmark, Director of Policy at GHLF. “And now they're also able to provide COVID vaccines, and in some jurisdictions, they're even able to provide routine immunizations as well. So that definitely helps."
Among the highlights in this episode:
1:59: As of today, only 15.3% of Americans have received the updated booster
3:20: A recent online study published by the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) found that the most common reasons for people not getting a bivalent booster were lack of awareness about eligibility (23.2%) or of vaccine availability (19.3%) and overestimations of their own existing immunity from previous vaccines or infections (18.9%)
3:50: “The lack of awareness about eligibility or vaccine availability is so high… It shows that we live in a little bit of a bubble, because to my mind, I see notices everywhere,” says Steven Newmark
4:13: “I went home to New Jersey a few weeks ago, and I did notice a lot more signage about COVID compared to here in Nashville… If you go into a pharmacy, of course, there are signs about shots available here but it's not broadcasted. We don't have a subway system for example [in Nashville] and that's where a lot of signs are in New York… Here's my bubble,” says Zoe Rothblatt, Associate Director of Community Outreach at GHLF
5:34: “I think that we have to consider where we're putting messages that we're meeting people in their everyday life, and not creating an extra burden. Because often, health care can feel like a burden, especially for people with chronic illness. But I think it's just about getting the right messaging out in the right places,” says Zoe Rothblatt
5:52: After participants [to the MMWR survey] were given information on eligibility and availability, 67.8% of those who hadn't gotten a booster said that they would pursue one; a survey one month later showed that 28.6% of these participants had actually done so
7:14: In the latest episode of Healthcare Matters (episode 7), hosts Dr. Robert Popovian and Conner Mertens discuss the enhanced role of pharmacies in the overall immunization process in the U.S. and how important of an access point pharmacies are for people
You can listen to the episode via the link below: <a href="https://ghlf.org/healthcarematters/#episode27">https://ghlf.org/healthcarematters/#episode27</a>
8:22: The FDA is considering a shift in COVID-19 strategy: moving away from requiring two shots of the original vaccine in order to be able to get the updated bivalent booster and to adopt instead a strategy similar to the annual flu shot where people could simply get whatever the latest version of the vaccine is annually
9:18: For immunocompromised patients, the FDA would recommend two annual doses of the shot
9:28: “Myself like many had to hold my regular injections that treat my arthritis and Crohn's for the COVID shot, so doing that [booster shot] twice [annually] is a huge setback in health,” says Zoe Rothblatt
11:02: There is no vaccine yet to prevent RSV, although there is a medicine that can help protect some babies at high risk for severe RSV disease (it is very costly and requires monthly injection), and another is in development for infants that would last for the whole season
12:41: What our hosts learned from this episode
Contact Our Hosts
Steven Newmark, Director of Policy at GHLF: <a href="mailto:snewmark@ghlf.org">snewmark@ghlf.org</a>
Zoe Rothblatt, Associate Director, Community Outreach at GHLF: <a href="mailto:zrothblatt@ghlf.org">zrothblatt@ghlf.org</a>
We want to hear what you think. Send your comments in the form of an email, video, or audio clip of yourself to <a href="mailto:thehealthadvocates@ghlf.org">thehealthadvocates@ghlf.org</a>
Catch up on all our episodes on our website or on your favorite podcast channel.

A podcast that breaks down major health news of the week to help you make sense of it all. Our goal is to help you understand what’s happening in the healthcare world to help you make informed decisions to live your best life.

A podcast that breaks down major health news of the week to help you make sense of it all. Our goal is to help you understand what&rsquo;s happening in the healthcare world to help you make informed decisions to live your best life.

The Health Advocates

A podcast that breaks down major health news of the week to help you make sense of it all. Our goal is to help you understand what’s happening in the healthcare world to help you make informed decisions to live your best life. The podcast is part of the Global Healthy Living Foundation Podcast Network and hosted by Steven Newmark, Chief of Policy at GHLF, and Zoe Rothblatt, Director of Community Outreach at GHLF.

A podcast that breaks down major health news of the week to help you make sense of it all. Our goal is to help you understand what’s happening in the healthcare world to help you make informed decisions to live your best life. The podcast is part of the Global Healthy Living Foundation Podcast Network and hosted by Steven Newmark, Chief of Policy at GHLF, and Zoe Rothblatt, Director of Community Outreach at GHLF.

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