0:03 hello and thank you for tuning in I'm
0:07 Lori VA today I'm joined by Stamford
0:10 mayor Caroline Simmons jod Bishop Poland
0:13 the city's director of Health and Human
0:17 Services and Dr Asha Shaw director of
0:20 infectious diseases at Stamford Health
0:22 thank you for joining me to discuss the
0:24 Centers for Disease Control and
0:26 prevention's recent Health advisory
0:30 regarding flu covid-19 and rs be this
0:33 season and what Stanford residents can
0:35 do to protect themselves from severe
0:38 illness thank you for having us public
0:40 health and safety is one of our top
0:41 priorities and I'm really glad that
0:43 we're having this conversation today and
0:46 we're grateful to be joined by healthare
0:48 experts and leaders like jod and Dr Shaw
0:50 to explain what this advisory means for
0:52 our residents and how you can keep
0:54 yourselves safe and healthy this holiday
0:57 season I totally agree let me start with
1:00 you Dr Shaw could you give us some
1:03 background on the cdc's recent advisory
1:06 absolutely um so we recently received a
1:10 health advisory from the CDC alerting us
1:12 that uh hospitalizations for flu
1:16 covid-19 and RSV have increased by
1:19 nearly 50% or more amongst all age
1:22 groups across the country um and what
1:24 we're seeing here in Stanford is also a
1:27 similar increase in the number of cases
1:30 of flu covid and RSV
1:32 um in the recent weeks so we are
1:34 definitely in the season those
1:37 statistics are certainly concerning what
1:38 do you recommend we do to protect
1:41 ourselves so the best ways um that we
1:43 can protect ourselves is number one is
1:46 being up to-date on uh your vaccinations
1:48 this is the first season that we have
1:50 vaccinations for all three of these
1:54 respiratory viruses um mainly influenza
1:57 covid-19 and RSV um these vaccines
2:00 provide protection uh from severe
2:02 illness and hospitalization um and it's
2:04 definitely encouraged um for everyone to
2:07 get them that's eligible for them other
2:09 things to do are the principles of
2:12 infection prevention um tried and true
2:15 hand hygiene wash your hands stay home
2:17 when you're sick cover your cough wear a
2:20 mask if you're symptomatic in public um
2:23 and get tested if you're feeling sick
2:25 those are really helpful recommendations
2:28 Jody can I ask you who should get
2:30 vaccines for these three illnesses
2:32 well I'll talk about the covid and flu
2:35 vaccines first everyone ages six months
2:39 and older may get the flu and covid
2:42 vaccines adults just need one dose of
2:45 the updated covid-19 vaccine to be up to
2:48 date but it's important to remember if
2:51 your last covid-19 shot was before
2:54 September 12th of this year then you are
2:58 not up to date updated covid-19 vaccines
3:00 and flu shots are available at most
3:03 pharmacies and Clinics in Stanford visit
3:06 vaccines. goov to find a location near
3:09 you Stanford residents age 18 and older
3:12 who do not have health insurance or as
3:14 well as children who live in Connecticut
3:18 may get a free covid-19 vaccine or flu
3:22 shot at our 137 Henry Street Clinic call
3:28 203 977 5385 to make an appointment now
3:31 for RSV in infants young children and
3:33 adults ages 60 years and older may get
3:36 an RSB vaccine please connect with your
3:38 doctor or healthc care provider though
3:41 about where you can get an RSV vaccine
3:43 Dr Shaw would you like to advise on
3:45 getting the vaccines at the same time
3:49 sure so um you may get the flu and
3:51 covid-19 vaccines at the same time so at
3:54 the same visit for convenience um if you
3:57 can get them both I would get them um if
4:00 you've had covid-19 a common question is
4:03 when um should you get the updated uh
4:06 shot uh the recommendation is that you
4:08 can consider waiting for three months
4:11 after your covid-19 infection um or um
4:13 from when you received a positive test
4:15 if you've had no symptoms to get that
4:18 vaccine um I also recommend uh
4:20 discussing this with your doctor or your
4:23 health care provider um and in terms of
4:25 what the appropriate timing is for you
4:28 in terms of the RSV vaccine um it's
4:31 recommended for certain risk groups um
4:34 mainly for the elderly population and
4:38 for pregnant women um and so if you feel
4:40 that you are in one of those categories
4:41 that would be eligible for the RSV
4:42 vaccine it's something that you should
4:44 be discussing with your healthc care
4:47 provider as well uh the main takeaway uh
4:49 for everyone listening is to get your
4:51 flu shot updated covid-19 vaccine and
4:54 RSV vaccine if you are eligible to
4:57 protect you against severe disease and
4:59 hospitalization that is really helpful
5:01 in information thank you Jody and Dr
5:05 Shaw mayor Simmons before we close where
5:07 can residents go to get more information
5:10 sure so if residents have additional
5:11 questions please don't hesitate to call
5:13 the Stanford Department of Health and
5:15 Human Services directly that number is 203
5:17 203 9774
5:18 9774
5:21 1846 and also to learn more about
5:24 covid-19 flu or RSB you can always visit
5:26 our stamfordct.gov
5:28 webbsite and that is where our
5:30 department of health will be providing
5:32 updates as they become available and you
5:35 can follow our social media Pages um the
5:37 Department of Health posts on Facebook X or
5:38 or
5:41 Instagram very helpful thank you all for
5:43 joining me today so we can share this
5:46 important information with the Stanford
5:48 community and thank you for helping us
5:49 get this timely message out to our
5:51 residents we want to wish everyone a
5:53 safe and healthy holiday season and a
5:56 very happy New Year absolutely and to
5:59 all of you as well to learn more about
6:01 how you can protect yourself from
6:06 covid-19 the flu and RSV visit Stanford
6:10 c.gov or call 203 977
6:17 [Music] 4846
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