You can arm yourself and your family against respiratory illnesses that can ruin the holidays and much more.

(NAPSI)—A bout of COVID-19 or the flu will put a damper on any holiday celebration. One of the most effective ways to help prevent these illnesses is by staying up to date on immunizations. If you haven’t received an annual flu vaccination and updated COVID-19 vaccination yet, it’s not too late to do so. Vaccinations to guard against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and pneumococcal pneumonia are also available and recommended for those eligible.

Who Should Get Vaccinated

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people six months and older, with rare exceptions, should get the updated annual flu vaccine. The CDC also recommends that everyone ages six months and older should get the updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine, unless otherwise noted, to help restore and enhance protection against the currently circulating virus variants.

It’s especially important to protect those at increased risk of complications from severe flu or COVID-19 illness, such as adults 65 and older, people with certain immunocompromising or chronic medical conditions, infants, young children and pregnant women.

The CDC also recommends a single dose of any FDA-authorized RSV vaccine for adults ages 75 and older and those ages 60-74 at increased risk of severe RSV. The CDC just expanded the age group that pneumococcal vaccines are recommended for to adults 50 and older (previously it was 65 and older); the vaccine is also recommended for children younger than five years and adults at increased risk for pneumococcal disease.

“Crowded airports and train stations, large gatherings with family and friends and more time spent indoors as temperatures drop are all contributing factors to the spread of respiratory viruses,” said Dr. Sree Chaguturu, executive vice president and chief medical officer at CVS Health. “Immunizations are the best protection against these viruses, and getting vaccinated now, before Thanksgiving and the winter holidays, makes sense because it takes about two weeks for the body to build up protection.”

What Else You Can Do

Chaguturu also recommends covering coughs and sneezes, frequent handwashing throughout the day, and avoiding close contact with those who are sick to help prevent the spread of germs.

Who Can Help

Most insurance plans cover flu and COVID-19 vaccinations at no cost, and other preventive vaccines may be available at no cost, as well. Check with your health care insurance provider to determine coverage.

Getting the vaccines can be easy. One way is to visit CVS.com or the CVS Pharmacy app to schedule an immunization appointment at CVS Pharmacy or MinuteClinic.

An alliance of experts brings hope to people suffering visual function loss.

(NAPSI)—If you or someone you care for is ever among the millions of people in the United States who suffer from a loss of visual function as the result of stroke, concussion, traumatic brain injury and other illnesses and conditions, there’s information you may want to see.

Understanding the Issue

Most seeking care are told that if their visual abnormalities don’t resolve on their own within the first year, there is nothing that can be done to rehabilitate visual field loss. It can be devastating, resulting in loss of the ability to work, drive, read and other important functions that are critical components to quality of life. Fortunately, many of these conditions have and continue to be rehabilitated through neuro-optometry.

Vision is more than eye health; it’s a complex process that relies on the brain’s processing functions to translate the information received from the eyes. The practice of treating the interaction of the eyes and the brain is known as neuro-optometry, but awareness of this field of practice­—and access to physicians who specialize in it—is limited. That’s why a group of experts and innovators created the DeyeNAMICS Alliance. Its goal is simple, but its implications are profound. By raising awareness of neuro-optometry and creating the most rigorous standards of care, the organization seeks to revolutionize access and outcomes for patients.

Access is Critical

The life-changing care the group provides, however, is only as valuable as a patient’s ability to access to it. That’s why the DeyeNAMICS Alliance is committed to growing a nationwide network of quality providers to create more access points for patients. The Alliance’s core values are grounded in the belief that everyone deserves the dignity of a diagnosis and quality continuum of care.

A network of doctors is located across the country, and a goal is to have so expansive a network that everyone has a provider within an easily drivable radius—so there’s more care for more people with better outcomes.

Treatable Conditions

Stroke and TBI aren’t the only conditions that can produce loss in visual function abnormalities—and visual field loss is only one of several conditions people may develop. Patients with Lyme disease, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s and other conditions can have other visual abnormalities that require more than traditional optometric care—and may also suffer from visual midline shift, which results in dangerous gait and balance problems destabilizing everyday motor function, making life far more difficult.

Conditions May be Complex, but Awareness and Access Can be Simple

With millions of people suffering, we all probably know someone struggling with one or more of the treatable conditions mentioned. The key is to educate and increase awareness of neuro-optometry and how to access it. To that end, the DeyeNAMICS Alliance created an informational website of easy-to-understand information and links to providers. A better understanding of how neuro-optometry can improve lives is as close as your phone or home computer.

Learn More

To learn more about how neuro-optometry works, see a comprehensive list of conditions it can treat and even schedule an appointment with a physician, visit deyenamics.com.

Lisa Reed and a quarter million other Americans have pulmonary fibrosis, a serious lung disease, ­but early treatment can make a big difference.

(NAPSI)—In 2022, Lisa Reed was eagerly anticipating her 70th birthday. She had plans to travel to Italy and was looking forward to spending more quality time with her grandchildren. But a persistent cough, worsened by a bout of COVID-19, led her to the emergency room in her hometown of Sante Fe. There, a series of tests, including a high-resolution chest CT of her lungs, revealed something unexpected: pulmonary fibrosis (PF).

Symptoms of PF, such as chronic dry cough, fatigue and shortness of breath, can often be confused with other more common illnesses, making it difficult to diagnose. In Reed’s case, her chest CT showed the presence of white tissue on her lungs—a characteristic sign of scarring and inflammation.

Like many others diagnosed with PF, Reed had never heard of the disease. Her internet search was startling, revealing that PF causes progressive and irreversible scarring in the lungs. It is part of a family of over 200 interstitial lung diseases (ILD) that affect more than 250,000 Americans.

Fortunately, Reed was diagnosed in the early stages of the disease. She quickly immersed herself in learning everything she could about PF. She discovered the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation’s (PFF) website, absorbing fact sheets, watching webinars, and exploring clinical trials and opportunities to get involved.

A friend of Reed’s who is a nurse practitioner suggested she reach out to the ILD clinic at National Jewish Hospital in Denver, a PFF Care Center Network site. She now receives care there from a multidisciplinary team of doctors including a pulmonologist, rheumatologist, cardiologist, and oncologist. She began an antifibrotic treatment to slow the progression of the disease.

As Reed started her treatment, her family received more unexpected news—both of her brothers were also diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. The siblings believe their condition is familial, with each of them at different stages of the disease. One of her brothers has since undergone a double lung transplant and is doing well.

Reed firmly believes that self-advocacy is essential in getting the right care as quickly as possible. She has volunteered for clinical trials, participates in online support groups, and actively engages with the PFF. Throughout her journey, Reed has found the PFF to be a vital resource for trusted information and tremendous support.

“Whether it’s getting the right diagnosis, learning what treatments are available, or finding resources for caregivers, there are answers and support,” she said. “It’s impressive and wonderful.”

Now, Reed volunteers as a PFF Ambassador, sharing her story and helping others along their journeys. “The way to help myself is to help others,” she says.

Reed plans to attend a virtual PFF Education Symposium. She looks forward to learning about the latest research studies, how to live better with PF, and to connect with others navigating life with PF.

“Whether you’re newly diagnosed, or you’ve been living with PF for years, no one should face this journey alone,” said Reed. “There are so many ways we can help each other, both big and small. And there’s a whole community of people, resources, and support ready to help you through the PFF.”

The PFF Education Symposium is a virtual conference taking place Nov. 7-8. To learn more about PF and to register for the Symposium, visit pulmonaryfibrosis.org/symposium.

Rotary International says everyone should get the necessary vaccines, and anyone can support efforts to protect more people.

(NAPSI)—In the last 50 years alone, vaccines have saved 154 million lives—six people every minute for five decades. But measles, polio, and cholera outbreaks are on the rise despite being vaccine-preventable, and vaccines still urgently need funding. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases and is often the first indicator of immunization gaps.

About Vaccines

Vaccines are one of the safest and most effective ways to protect people from certain life-threatening diseases.

Unfortunately, COVID interrupted life-saving vaccine campaigns, and now there’s a growing resurgence of vaccine-preventable infections, including polio and measles, around the world, including 13 outbreaks of measles cases in the United States.

Pointers on Polio

Consider that old scourge, polio. Efforts to eradicate it have been going on for decades. At its peak in the 1940s and 1950s, it affected between 13,000 and 20,000 people in the United States every year, many of them children. Thousands died, and many others were permanently paralyzed. Then, in 1955 Jonas Salk and in 1961 Albert Sabin developed and deployed vaccines and the number of cases dropped.

In the years following, Rotary International (https://endpolio.org) a global humanitarian service organization with more than 1.2 members around the world, initiated the global fight to end polio. Since founding the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, Rotary and its partners have reduce polio cases by more than 99.9% percent worldwide. Partners include the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Rotary International and its members have donated $2.7 billion and countless volunteer hours to help immunize 3 billion children and eliminate polio in 122 countries. As a result, in 2023, only seven cases of “wild poliovirus” (two in Pakistan, five in Afghanistan) were found. For the past 30 years, the World Health Organization’s Region of the Americas has been declared polio-free.

Rotary members are business, professional, and community leaders who share a commitment to making the world a better place. Rotary and its partners also use a new vaccine, nOPV2, to address variant polio virus outbreaks. Millions of doses have been administered. Rotary has advocated, distributed, and administered vaccines for 45 years.

More About Measles

Once, measles, too, looked like a success story. It was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, thanks to a very high percentage of people receiving the safe and effective measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

However, recent data show that U.S. MMR coverage among kindergartners is below the CDC’s 95% coverage target—much lower in some communities—and decreasing.

The CDC reports that measles is so contagious that if one person has it, The CDC reports, up to 9 out of 10 people nearby will become infected if they are not vaccinated. Common complications are ear infections and diarrhea. Serious complications include pneumonia and encephalitis.

Meanwhile, global measles activity is increasing, meaning there are more chances of an unvaccinated person infected with measles abroad returning to the United States. That’s one reason it may be wise to talk to your healthcare provider about the MMR vaccine, especially if you plan to travel.

Concerning Cervical Cancer

Rotary is also involved in preventing this deadly disease—women diagnosed with cervical cancer are almost twice as likely to die of it than of breast cancer. Fortunately, cervical cancer is preventable and treatable.

The human papillomavirus, which is also called HPV and is responsible for more than 90% of cervical cancers, can linger in the body for a long time and eventually cause cancer. Getting vaccinated against HPV helps prevent most cases of cervical and many other cancers by giving the body a safe way to build immune system awareness of certain HPV strains.

To help, the Rotary Foundation has awarded more than $10.3 million in global grant funding for cervical cancer projects since 2014, and other Rotary projects have tackled this issue outside of global grant funding.

What You Can Do

You can be part of the effort to end polio in four ways:

1. Donate to the End Polio Now Campaign (https://endpolio.org).
2. Contact government leaders and encourage them to prioritize financial and political support for polio eradication and vaccination for other conditions.
3. Every year on October 24 participate in World Polio Day to raise awareness of the importance of polio vaccination and to celebrate the parents, professionals, and volunteers who make eradication possible.
4. Join Rotary. Since 1985, Rotary members have helped immunize up to 400 million children against polio a year. As a result, more than 20 million people who would otherwise have been paralyzed are walking, and more than 1.5 million people are alive who would otherwise have died.

Learn More

For additional information visit: www.polioeradication.org and www.endpolio.org.

By taking an online survey you can help millions of people with liver disease­—maybe even yourself – get the treatment they need.

(NAPSI)—If you or a loved one are among the nearly 100 million Americans affected by liver disease, consider joining the American Liver Foundation Patient Registry. By sharing your story, you can help share the future of liver health. As a participant in the registry, you will join a group of individuals dedicated to changing the face of liver disease through the advancement of new science and treatments that will benefit all.

The American Liver Foundation Patient Registry is free to join and the first-ever patient registry for all types of liver diseases, including transplant. It helps provide researchers with a better understanding of liver diseases, the effect of current treatments, and how liver disease affects patients. Until now, there has not been one central place where researchers interested in liver disease can access information on a patient’s disease history and more importantly, how patients are managing their disease and its often-debilitating symptoms and associated conditions such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol.

With more than 100 different types of liver disease, it is imperative that researchers have access to this kind of information to help discover better treatments and cures.

Who Can Participate?

The American Liver Foundation Patient Registry is voluntary and open to any patient with liver disease, 18 years of age or older, in the U.S. If you decide to participate, the registry will gather data about your disease through an online survey.

How Does it Work?

Powered by EmpiraMed’s PRO Portal, the American Liver Foundation Patient Registry is designed to be easy to use. The Portal keeps track of where you are in the survey process and automatically saves your work as you go, so you never have to worry about losing information. After registering, you will be asked to complete an initial online survey about:

• Your history of liver disease(s)
• How you manage/treat your disease and symptoms
• Other medical conditions relevant to your liver disease
• Lifestyle choices which may influence your liver health
• Additional information about you.

Get Started Today

To learn more and sign-up go to liverpatientregistry.org and start working towards a world free from liver disease.