SENIOR NEWS

By Matilda Charles Covid

... It’s Still Here

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of Covid cases has steadily risen since December. Earlier in the fall, Covid took a short break while the u and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) made it to center stage. ose illnesses are now waning a bit, and here comes Covid again.

It doesn’t help that we have a new variant -- an o shoot of Omicron, the XBB.1.5 -- taking o around the country. By Christmas nearly half the cases of Covid were that new variant, so it’s growing.

Seniors, as usual, are being hit hard with those in the age 70+ range being the largest group a ected, followed by ages 60-69.

If you’re hesitant to go back to being extremely careful, we’re experiencing what some doctors are calling the Senior Wave. It means the numbers on a graph show that the largest group a ected with hospitalizations are seniors.

Which means it’s still not time to let down our guard. If anything, it means renewing our e orts to stay safe. Frequent handwashing, wearing a mask in the store, even if you’re the only one who is, staying out of large groups ... we know how to do this.

And like it or not, we should. e growing number of seniors being hospitalized or dying due to Covid should shake up all of us.

Another, and possibly even more accurate, statistic for the spread of Covid is the wastewater. is is where municipalities test the sewage for Covid. People can hide their exposure and illness by using the at-home tests we all received in the mail, thereby skewing the “o cial” numbers, but the sewage in an area is sure to be more accurate.

To see the wastewater data by county, go online to CDC.gov and search for “National Wastewater Surveillance System” (NWSS).

(c) 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.

TIPS

Switch up. When strength training, do not work the same muscle group two days in a row. Muscles need time to recover. If you prefer circuit strength training where you exercise various muscle groups in one day, do not strength

Stay connected. Maintaining social connections with family, friends and community members also can help women prevent cognitive decline. Epidemiologist Bryan James of the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center studied how social activity affected cognitive decline, ultimately noting that the rate of cognitive decline was considerably lower among men and women who maintained social contact than it was among those with low levels of social activity. happy as possible.

While people who make New resolutions fully intend to realize those goals, few actually stick to the game plan. According to researchers at the University of Scranton, just 8 percent of people who make their New Year’s resolutions actually achieve those resolutions. While that might make it seem like the odds are against men and women who have resolved to improve their lives in the year ahead, adults can realize their goals for the new year and beyond.

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Two of the keys to living longer may be spending more time with family and remaining socially engaged. According to research and the book, “The How of Happiness,” by Sonja Lyubomirsky, long-lived cultures attribute their longevity to keeping people close. An analysis of three communities of very long-living people in Lyubomirsky’s book - Sardinians in Italy, Okinawans in Japan and Seventh-Day Adventists in Loma Linda, California - revealed that they all had five priorities in common. At the top of that list were “Put family first” and “Keep socially engaged.” Good friendships, deep relationships with family members and social engagement are essential to a long, happy life. This New Year’s Eve, more people may want to resolve to prioritize friends and family more than they already do. Not only can doing so deepen relationships, but it also can keep people healthier by reducing stress and the risk of developing illnesses related to depression and loneliness. Today is a great time to reconnect with members of the family and schedule a longawaited visit.