Flu Vaccine More Important than Ever

HEALTH & WELLNESS Flu Vaccine More Important than Ever

Getting a flu vaccine is more important than ever to protect yourself, your family, and your community from flu. A flu vaccine this season can also help reduce the burden on our health care systems responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and save medical resources for care of COVID-19 patients.

What is the difference between Influenza and COVID-19?

Influenza (flu) and COVID-19 are both contagious respiratory illnesses, but they are caused by different viruses. COVID-19 is caused by infection with a new coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, are similar, it may be hard to tell the difference between them based on symptoms alone, Flu and COVID-19 share many characteristics, but there are key differences between the two. While more is learned every day, there is still a lot that is unknown about COVID-19 and the virus that causes it.

Is COVID-19 more dangerous than flu?

Flu and COVID-19 can both result in serious illness, even resulting in hospitalization or death. While there is still much to learn about COVID-19, at this time, it does seem as if COVID-19 is more deadly than seasonal influenza; however, it is too early to draw any conclusions from the current data. This may change as we learn more about the number of people who are infected who have mild illnesses.

Will a flu vaccine protect me against COVID-19?

Getting a flu vaccine will not protect against COVID-19, however flu vaccination has many other benefits. Flu vaccines have been shown to reduce the risk of flu illness, hospitalization, and death. Getting a flu vaccine this fall will be more important than ever, not only to reduce your risk from flu but also to help conserve potentially scarce health care resources.

If COVID-19 is spreading in my community, should I still go out to get a flu vaccine?

part of protecting your health and your family’s health this season. To protect

your health when getting a flu vaccine, follow CDC’s recommendations for running essential errands and doctor visits. Continue to take everyday preventive actions.

If I am at high risk for serious illness from COVID-19 or flu, where is the

safest place for me to get a flu vaccine?

You can safely get a flu vaccine at multiple locations including your

doctor’s office, health departments,

and flu is caused by infection with guidance. Any vaccination location

influenza viruses. Because some of following CDC’s guidance should be a

the symptoms of flu and COVID-19 safe place for you to get a flu vaccine.

Yes. Getting a flu vaccine is an essential You can use VaccineFinder.org to find and testing may be needed Dave Lewis, Corrective Exercise Specialist/Brain Health Trainer available near you. When to help confirm a diagnosis. Call: 740-971-1966 going to get a flu vaccine,

and pharmacies. Ask if they are following CDC’s vaccination pandemic where flu vaccines are be sure to practice everyday preventive actions.

Cognitive Training

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Dave & Lindsay Lewis, Certified Personal Trainers FIT FAM PERSONAL TRAINING, LLC Dave@FitFamPT.com • www.FitFamPT.com • facebook.com/FitFamPT Vaccination of people at high risk for flu complications is especially important to decrease their risk of severe flu illness. Many people at higher risk from flu also seem to be at higher risk from COVID-19. If you are at high risk, it is especially important for you to get a flu vaccine this year. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

Prepare From page 1

Because failing to plan for future responsibilities can make a bad situation worse. And the loved ones you tried to protect by tiptoeing around “uncomfortable” issues will be the ones who end up suffering the most. While you might not be thinking about it now, putting together a caregiving plan with your loved ones and other family members helps eliminate problems at home and work. In addition to minimizing the last minute scrambling and family tensions that commonly arise when a once-independent loved one needs more consistent care, a caregiving plan can also help reduce a family’s financial strain. The truth is that family caregiving responsibilities take a toll on family finances. A study by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, for example, found that caregiver respondents reported an average loss of $566,443 in wage wealth— all because of the unanticipated consequences of their caregiving responsibilities. It’s not just the caregivers who are affected. Without a caregiving plan, those family members most affected by the crisis—the care recipients themselves—end up with the least say in their wishes and priorities for the future. It’s hard to imagine not having control over your own future, but too often that is what happens when families don’t ask the important questions ahead of time.

Think a caregiving crisis won’t happen to your family?

Today, 30 million households are providing care for an adult over the age of 50—and that number is expected to double over the next 25 years. For many Americans, life at 40, 50, or even 60 years old will include care for an aging parent or relative. As the nation grows older, the need for caregiving will be as common as the need for child care.

If you have not yet begun to discuss a caregiving plan with your loved ones and other members of your family, it is never too late. It doesn’t matter who starts the conversation. What really matters is that every family has the opportunity to talk about and create a caregiving plan for their aging loved ones based on the needs and wishes of those who will be receiving the care.

5 STEPS TO A CAREGIVING PLAN FOR YOUR FAMILY

This guide is designed to help you and other family members discuss and create a caregiving plan for yourself or an aging parent, other relative, or close friend or neighbor. Each of the following five steps includes information on how to get started, questions to ask, and the basic resources needed. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t answer every question or fill in every blank. And remember, you don’t have to do it all at once. The important thing is to start— and continue—the conversation in a way that works for you and your family

STEP 1: Prepare to Talk

Let’s face it. No adult child wants to talk about the “what if’s” with their fiercely independent parents. And no parent wants to admit to themselves or their children that they might need help someday. So before you figure out who will care for your loved one, it’s important to ask yourself some questions: •

Who is the best person to start the conversation with your loved one(s)?

What are your biggest concerns and priorities as you help put together a caregiving plan for someone else?

What is the best thing you think might happen as a result of this conversation?

What is the most difficult thing for you about having this conversation with a person you care about?

What are you afraid might happen as a result of this conversation?

How do you think your loved one and other family members might react to the conversation?

How does your family usually respond when uncomfortable subjects are discussed?

How can you explain to your loved one and other family members why it is important to have this conversation?

In addition to emotional support, how much financial support are you willing or able to provide if your loved one needs it?

STEP 2: Form Your Team

You can’t create an effective family caregiving plan without the input and support of your loved ones and your other family members—everyone should have a say in the process. Chances are you already have an idea of who needs to be in on the conversation, but it helps to list everyone who should and would want to be a part of the team. That includes “difficult” or argumentative family members. It might be easier to leave them out of the initial discussion, but it won’t help later when it’s time to put the plan into action. Continued on next page.

Before you sit down to talk about the next steps, you need to assemble your “team”—those family members (and perhaps some close friends) who want or need to play a role in the caregiving plan. The most important—and unfortunately often the most overlooked—participant in the conversation is the person who may be on the receiving end of the care. Barring mental or physical incapacity or other extraordinary circumstances, the person receiving the care should play the most significant role in the discussion.

The care recipient’s wishes and priorities are the cornerstone of every family caregiving plan.

To move the planning process forward, it will also help to have one person who is designated as the family team leader. You don’t have to vote on who the leader should be nor does the family team leader get to dictate the outcome of the conversation. It is important, however, to have a point person to keep the process going and make sure that people agree to and understand the final results.

STEP 3: Assess Needs Assessing the Needs of Your Loved Ones

for in the future should be involved and agree to every step of the planning process. Once you have your team in place, the next important step is to assess the needs of your loved one. Sometimes this is difficult to do ahead of time, but figuring out what your loved one’s priorities are, where they want to live, and the nature of the care involved will help you determine what kind of information you need the most and which resources will be most helpful.

Finding the Right Information

Before you can come up with a family caregiving plan that works for everyone, you will need to assess your loved ones’ needs and gather two types of information. First, it’s important to get a handle on where to find your loved ones’ personal information—from important documents, such as wills and insurance policies, to which files the electric bills are in. Second, it’s helpful to find out more about the many national and local resources that are available to support caregivers—especially information about public benefit programs that might provide just the extra boost families

The person you are caring for or will be caring may need. See CARE on page 10. Download the full "Prepare to Care" kit from the resources listed at MySourcePoint.org/caregiver. It includes checklists designed to help your family caregiving team put together needed resources.

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Care impacted by caregiving responsibilities. From page 9 No matter how you decide to have the conversation, STEP 4: Make a Plan responsible for each area. Others within the group can then Once you have put together your team, assessed your be assigned to help with specific tasks within each area. This family’s needs, and gathered all the information you need keeps one family member from handling too many tasks. to make solid, informed decisions, it’s time to sit down (For example, one sibling ends up taking on most of the with all the important players and put your plan together. responsibilities because she lives the closest. Keep in mind that you can never plan for every detail or eventuality, but if you have the basics covered, you will have Again, the family members who will receive the care should an important foundation to build on later. play the most significant role in talking about and assigning There are a million different ways to have a planning parent may feel more comfortable having another child look conference with your loved one and family. You can host a after their financial affairs. Often, loved ones already have family meeting, hold a family conference call (especially if your strong and well-founded opinions about who they might family members are spread out across the country), or have want to do which task. a series of email conversations, especially to keep everyone informed as things change. For the initial planning, however, STEP 5: Take Action a face-to-face conversation is always the best idea. Whatever One of the hardest tasks in the world is putting together a you do, make sure that everyone knows about the discussion plan you hope you and your loved one will never have to ahead of time so that there are no surprises or hurt feelings. use. For ourselves and our loved ones, all we really want is The family team leader can get the conversation started, but the unexpected happens, however, it helps to have the tools no one person should dictate or limit what is talked about. As in place to deal with life’s complications, especially when we have made clear throughout this article, the person who they are designed to help you care for someone close to you. will be receiving the care will have the ultimate control over the conversation and the plan for the future. After coming up The strength and success of a caregiving plan is only with a plan, the group may consider designating one family tested when the plan is actually put into action. While this member to write up a brief summary of what was decided. seems obvious, the best-laid plans are sometimes hard Because people sometimes remember conversations to implement or are forgotten altogether. When a crisis differently, this is an important tool to make sure that happens, it is difficult to remember a specific blueprint everyone agrees on and has a record of what was discussed for action. And it’s always possible that circumstances and and who is responsible for what. Most important, a written relationships may have changed by the time a family is ready summary of the plan helps to to use the plan. That’s why it is ensure that all the wishes and needs of the potential care Does Your Older Loved One important for the team to reevaluate and perhaps expand recipient have been considered and included. Have a LifeCard? the plan from time to time. Most important, family The plan itself doesn’t have Medical emergencies can happen anytime. When they members should always to be fancy, formal, or long. do, there is confusion, panic, and urgency. Paramedics remember that no matter Think of it as a document that arrive on the scene with no information about the how organized and committed outlines the general “rules” person in need. Seconds count—they can make the you are, the plan will have to rather than a blueprint that lays out every possible detail. While there is more than one difference between life and death. Does the patient have prior medical conditions? Allergies? What medications are they taking? Who do they want us to call? change as you go along. That’s OK. It’s having the conversation in the first place—and way to make sure that you SourcePoint's LifeCard puts these answers at their understanding the needs, cover all the topics that are fingertips. It allows first responders to immediately begin wishes, and dreams behind important to your family, you the best possible treatment, notify loved ones, and pass it—that will help ensure a might choose to organize the this vital data on to awaiting physicians at the emergency meaningful and caring future discussion around the major room. Download a card at MySourcePoint.org/care and for you and those you love. clip it to your fridge today! the group should designate a point person who will be roles and tasks. Even if one child is an accountant, an older happiness, good health, and loving family and friends. When areas of life that might be Source: The AARP Foundation.

FUN & GAMES

Logic Riddles

Solve these logic riddles to stimulate your brain. They require logical thinking and may involve math.

What goes up but never comes down?

A man who was outside in the rain without an umbrella or hat didn’t get a single hair on his head wet. Why?

You see a boat filled with people, yet there isn’t a single person on board. How is that possible?

What has hands, but can’t clap?

What has four wheels and flies?

I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?

Mary has four daughters, and each of her daughters has a brother. How many children does Mary have?

If there are three apples and you take away two, how many apples do you have?

What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?

10.You see me once in June, twice in November, and not at all in May. What am I?

11.What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?

12.What can fill a room but takes up no space?

13.The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?

14.People make me, save me, change me, raise me. What am I?

15.If five cats can catch five mice in five minutes, how long will it take one cat to catch one mouse?

16.The day before two days after the day before tomorrow is

Saturday. What day is it today?

See Logic Riddles Answers on page 21.

Sudoku

EASY

HARD

See Sudoku Solutions on page 21.

Voting From page 1

This has brought with it a number of concerns about election security and widespread voter fraud from a number of politicians. Mail-in votes are just as safe and secure as voting at your local polling place on Election Day, says Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Ohio's chief elections officer and Republican. "The President raises concerns that may be valid in other states, but not in Ohio," LaRose says. "The President is responsible for all 50 states and I'm just responsible for Ohio and the 8 million registered voters here need to know that vote by mail is secure, easy to use, and your vote will be counted." In reality, there is little evidence of widespread mail voter fraud anywhere in the U.S.

Hamilton County's Board of Election director recently explained how mail-in voting really works, step-by-step, and all the security measures that ensure your ballot is counted correctly.

Requesting a Ballot

It starts with registration, which you can complete right now online at VoteDelawareCountyOhio.gov.

(Hurry! The deadline is Oct. 5 for the Nov. 3 election.)

Then you can request an absentee ballot by filling out a form from the same website.

LaRose, too, recently mailed absentee voter applications to all of Ohio's nearly 8 million voters around Labor Day.

When your application is Contact Kathleen Johnson at Manos, Martin & Pergram Co., LPA Offices in Delaware and Galena received, all the identifying information on the application—like your name, date of birth, signature, Ohio driver's license number or Social Security number— are electronically and manually crossreferenced with information from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and from your original voter registration form. This ensures that the person applying for a ballot is really who they claim to be. Then, a bipartisan team from the Board of Elections creates a ballot packet, which includes a voter's personalized ballot from their district held inside an identification envelope, which contains another form with identifying information. That envelope is inside a second return envelope alongside instructions to ensure the ballot is filled out correctly. After a voter receives their ballot and fills it out, they seal their ballot inside the identification envelope, and seal the identification envelope inside the return envelope. This creates two layers of protection for the ballot from anyone trying to get in and tamper with it.

Ballots can be either mailed to the voter's county Board of Elections using the U.S. Postal Service or dropped off by hand at the Board of Elections office. There is a drop box for absentee ballots outside the Delaware County board offices on U.S. Highway 23 just north of downtown Delaware. Voters mailing their ballots must have them postmarked one day before the election—in this case, Nov. 2 for the general election. Voters can also drop off ballots at the Board of Elections in person before the polls close at 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.

The Verification Process

Once a ballot reaches the Board of Elections—whether it be on Election Day, days later, or weeks before—every ballot goes through the same verification process. Just like with the mail-in application, information on the identification envelopes is verified by a bipartisan team electronically and manually. Still sealed, the ballots are stored in a room with two locks so that one Republican and one Democratic Board of Elections employee are needed to access the room.

Mail-in ballots are then removed from their envelopes and inspected to ensure they don’t have coffee stains or tears, which... Continued on next page.

...would make them unable to be read by machines. (Damaged ballots are still counted, just by hand instead.) After being flattened to remove creases, ballots are fed through a machine that captures the voting record but does not create a count of how many votes a candidate has received. That ensures employees of the Board of Elections don't have any information about the results of an election—they find out the results at the same time the public does.

On Election Day

Once Election Day arrives, the data from the vote capturing machines is manually moved to a tabulation machine that generates the election results. That data is then moved by hand again to a computer that sends it to the Ohio Secretary of State's office and the public. No machines in the vote count process are connected to the internet, and the manual moving of data is what causes the hours delay between polls closing and unofficial results being released later that night. This counting process continues for another week as ballots continue to arrive in the mail, and an official count is released seven days after Election Day.

Additional Measures

From voter registration to mail-in application to a final count, there are layers upon layers of security protection to ensure that mail-in voting is just as safe as voting in person. There are even additional layers of security at the state level. LaRose identified key safeguards that his office maintains to ensure complete election security. The Secretary of State's office constantly adds and removes people from Ohio's voter rolls, using data from the national moving database, the Bureau of Motor vehicles, and death records. This ensures that only currently eligible voters can get ballots. Additionally, ballot harvesting is prohibited in Ohio. This is when

MySourcePoint.org IMPORTANT VOTING DEADLINES

Oct. 5—Deadline for voter registration for the Nov. 3, 2020 general election. (30 days before general election.) Oct. 31—Applications for absentee ballots to be mailed for the Nov. 3, 2020 general election must be received by boards of elections by noon. (3 days before general election.) Nov. 3—General Election Day. Polls open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13—Absentee ballots returned by U.S. Mail must be postmarked no later than Nov. 2 and received by boards of elections by this date to be counted. (10 days after general election.)

political operatives would collect ballots from both parties and throw out ballots they didn't want to be counted. "That's what happened in North Carolina," LaRose says. "A Republican operative was convicted of election fraud for that very thing, throwing out Democratic ballots. In Ohio we don't permit that." Only the voter or their immediate family can submit ballots in Ohio.

When an Anomaly Occurs

After all this however, there still are some anomalies every election. This is usually voters who vote by mail and submit provisional ballots in-person. Every case is investigated individually. It usually results in a voter who mailed in their ballot near the deadline and then also voted in person to ensure that their vote counted; or an individual who forgot they mailed in a ballot already. In all of these cases, only one ballot is counted and no charges are filed.

Despite being secure and still easy to vote by mail, the process isn't perfect. Due to delays by the Postal Service in Butler County in the 2020 Ohio Primary, some valid votes weren't counted. Diane Noonan is the director of the Butler County Board of Elections. "We called USPS on the last day and they said they gave us all the ballots, but Tuesday morning they showed up with 317 ballots," Noonan said. "It was the post office's fault for not sending us the ballots by the time they had to be here—May 8, according to state legislation. We tried to go to the Secretary of State to try and still use those ballots but we were not permitted." "It's just sad, there's nothing that we could do," Noonan said. To avoid a similar fate for your ballot, Noonan recommends submitting your ballot in the mail at least one week before Election Day, or by dropping off your ballot by hand at your county's Board of Elections office.

Eligible Ohio voters can request mailin ballots right now until Oct. 31 at your local Board of Elections office. You can register to vote, check your voter registration status, change your voting address, or register to work as a poll worker on Election Day at VoteDelawareCountyOhio.gov.

Source: Cincinnati Public Radio.