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Get help receiving stimulus checks
You’re invited to visit the Intercultural Senior Center (ISC), 5545 Center St., for the following: • Contact the ISC if you need help scheduling an appointment for your COVID-19 vaccination. • The ISC is scheduled to reopen on Monday, May 3. Inperson classes will be provided Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. A COVID-19 vaccination is required. • Morning exercise classes. Mondays: Zumba. Wednesdays: Tai Chi. Fridays: Tai Chi/weights-balls-bands. Classes are held from 9 to 10. Bring water. Masks, which are available upon request, are required. The ISC follows CDC and state guidelines for physical distancing, as well as indoor health and safety protocols. These classes are open to 14 older adults only.
• The ISC is offering online learning videos which can be accessed from the safety and comfort of your home at interculturalseniorcenter.org and on Facebook at ISC Class Connect. • Monthly food pantries are available at the ISC for persons age 50 or older. • The ISC is a site for ENOA’s Grab-n-Go meals Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Reserve your meal before 10 a.m. the day prior. Recipients must be age 60 or older. A contribution is suggested. • The ISC’s SAVE bus can bring case management services to your doorstep. • The ISC is looking for home-delivered meals volunteers on Wednesdays and Fridays @ 10:30 a.m. More information is available at interculturalseniorcenter.org.
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For more information, please call 402-444-6529.
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• Wills • Living Trusts • Probate • Healthcare and Financial Powers of Attorney • Medicaid Planning • In-home consultations • Free Initial consultation
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Anew study on older adults’ online behavior suggested that, although 74% claimed they take actions to protect themselves from cyberthreats, only 34% said they regularly changed and secured their passwords.
Overall, older men and women believed they’re pretty secure on the Internet. For example, 64% said they never clicked on suspicious links in emails, 58% claimed they used antivirus software, and 57% never downloaded files received from people they don’t know. It’s also worth noting older adults took these actions more often than younger people.
However, when it came to one of the most important parts of cybersecurity — passwords — older men and women fell behind. While 68% of them claimed they have a clear system in place, that system isn’t necessarily the most sophisticated. As many as 57% admitted to simply memorizing their passwords, and 57% said they wrote them down on a piece of paper. Only 22% of respondents said they stored passwords in a password manager.
“It’s great to have one clear system to manage all passwords. However, such systems as writing them down on a piece of paper might not be the best solution. This is not only because paper is easy to lose or damage but also because it has limited accessibility,” said Chad Hammond, security expert at NordPass. “For example, if you leave your password notebook at work, you won’t be able to access your passwords at home.”
Older adults also tended to underestimate various password-related threats. As many as 39% thought the chances of their passwords being leaked were slim.
According to the Risk Based Security report, there were 3,932 publicly reported data breaches that compromised more than 37 billion records.
“That’s a lot of chances to get hacked,” Hammond said.
In addition to that, 38% of older men and women felt safe enough not to be hacked, even though they reused passwords. As many as 34% though they’re secure enough not to be hacked, even though they don’t always create very strong passwords.
Even if passwords get leaked, 29% of older adults believed there wasn’t much risk of them getting abused. And 28% don’t think any cybercriminal could be interested in their passwords.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about what hackers do or don’t find interesting. A very common one is that hackers only target the rich and famous, but that’s not true,” Hammond said.
“Everyone can be a target. In fact, various accounts end up for sale on the dark web. For example, a Facebook account is worth about $75,” he added. While older men and women do have some great habits when online (not clicking on suspicious links, etc.), he shared his top password hygiene tips for older adults towards a better online security: • Regularly update your passwords. It’s is recommended you update your passwords every 90 days. • Set up complex passwords. A great password should be long, unique, and contain a mix of different characters. Use a password generator if you’re struggling to come up with one. • Try out a password manager. Besides keeping your passwords secure, password managers can also tell if your credentials have been compromised in data breaches, warn you about old or reused passwords, and help generate strong passwords. (NordPass provided this information.)
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Go to IRS.gov to get help claiming your COVID-19 stimulus payments
Last year, the IRS experienced a wide range of difficulties issuing COVID stimulus payments; both the initial $1,200 payments for adults, the accompanying $500 payment for minor children, and the more recent $600 payment for both adults and minor children.
While the agency did attempt to reach all qualified taxpayers and ensure correct payments throughout 2020, many taxpayers, including several older adults, are still waiting to receive all or some of their payments.
The IRS was required by law to issue the first payment by Dec. 31, 2020 and the second payment by Jan. 15, 2021. The timeframe for processing all direct payments, including direct deposits or paper checks, has ended.
This doesn’t mean the payments can no longer be claimed and received by qualified taxpayers, but that taxpayers will instead need to file a 2020 personal income tax return and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2020 Form 1040 or 1040 SR.
This Recovery Rebate credit covers all Economic Impact Payments not received, both $1,200 and $600 and can be done for free online. This also applies to older adults and retirees that normally don’t have to file personal income tax returns.
You can find free-filing tools by visiting IRS.gov. The other option is to call the 211 Helpline operated locally by the United Way of the Midlands and ask for tax preparation assistance to claim your COVID payment. While this also is a free service, it may involve a waiting period.
The IRS strongly encourages taxpayers to file electronically when possible, as this will avoid the congestion of the U.S. Postal Service that paper returns suffer from and also allow the payments to reach taxpayers much quicker. (This information was submitted from the office of U.S Representative Don Bacon.)
Shortly after his January inauguration, United States President Joe Biden announced a goal for the nation’s healthcare system to administer 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine during his first 100 days in office. That goal was reached on March 19, according to Dr. Anne O’Keefe, senior epidemiologist for the Douglas County Health Department (DCHD).
By late March, more than 82% of Douglas County residents age 65 and older had received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. More than 58% were fully vaccinated.
At the same time, there had been more than 65,000 cases and nearly 700 deaths in Douglas County during the previous 12 months due to the coronavirus. Of that total, 11% of the cases were in people age 65 and older. More than 83% of the COVID-19 deaths in Douglas County, however, were within this segment of the population.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), men and women age 65 to 74 are 1,100 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than schoolage children. Those numbers rise to 2,800 times more likely for age 75 to 84 and 7,900 times more likely for age 85-plus.
Individuals age 85 and older are 80 times more likely to be hospitalized by the coronavirus than school-age children.
O’Keefe said it’s too early to know for certain why older adults have been hit so hard by the virus.
“But there is no doubt, the numbers don’t lie. This has been a real tragedy for our older men and women.”
While most Americans were caught off guard when COVID-19 was identified in the United States, the DCHD was prepared.
“In public health, we’re always planning for a pandemic, so this didn’t come as a surprise,” O’Keefe said.
In fact, the DCHD has two staff members dedicated to pandemic preparations on a full-time basis.
The response to the coronavirus by the world’s pharmaceutical companies has been amazing, according to O’Keefe.
The ability to create a COVID-19 vaccine in a relatively short amount of time is due in large part to advancements in the last 20 years of genomic sequencing, the process of determining the DNA of an organism’s genetic material.
O’Keefe said once health officials in China – where it’s believed COVID-19 originated – were able to identify the genetic sequencing of the coronavirus, pharmaceutical companies began working to develop a vaccine.
Because getting new therapies marketed is often not cost effective, companies like Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson needed promises from governments around the world to buy millions of doses before these firms began manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine, O’Keefe said.
Prior to mass quantities of the vaccine rolling off assembly lines, health departments around the United States had to prioritize who was at the highest risk of being infected with the coronavirus and who needed to be vaccinated first.
Residents of long-term care facilities, those age 85 and older, first responders, and individuals working in the healthcare, food service, and meatpacking industries went to the front of the line.
O’Keefe said the COVID-19 vaccinations are crucial to public health because they protect the recipients and the people around them.
“The vaccinations have been highly effective in reducing hospitalizations and deaths.”
Vaccinating thousands of people can be a logistical nightmare due to manufacturing, distribution, and administrative concerns. There are also language, trust, and technology barriers to overcome.
“We’ve had to build the airplane as we were flying it,” O’Keefe said.
The number of vaccines Nebraska receives each week from the federal government varies making it difficult to schedule appointments. Health departments are responsible not only for vaccinating residents but also non-residents who work in their county.
Communicating the need to get vaccinated and reinforcing the vaccine’s safety and efficacy rates to people who aren’t proficient in English is vital, according to O’Keefe.
She said when the first Americans were brought to Nebraska from China for observation, the DCHD established a COVID-19 Information Line. More than a year later, that service has addressed roughly 50,000 calls and is operating seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Callers can have their questions answered in English or Spanish by calling 402-444-3400.
“We also use Language Line to answer questions for persons who don’t speak English or Spanish,” O’Keefe said.
To help overcome trust issues, Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, four former U.S. presidents, and several celebrities have been photographed and interviewed getting their COVID-19 vaccinations.
Knowing many older adults don’t have smartphones, laptops, or computers the DCHD has encouraged family members to help their loved ones register for a vaccination appointment online or by calling 402-444-3400.
In a few special cases, frail, at-risk, homebound older adults can receive the vaccine at home.
“The DCHD, however, doesn’t have the resources to do this on a widespread basis,” O’Keefe said.
Although the COVID-19 vaccine program has faced a few roadblocks, O’Keefe said it’s important for everyone to be patient and to get vaccinated. There are no out-ofpocket expenses, and the on-site process should last less than an hour.
Questions have arisen about the best vaccine to receive. While the efficacy rates of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are slightly higher than Johnson & Johnson’s, they require two doses compared to one dose for the Johnson & Johnson variety.
“The best vaccine is the one that’s available,” O’Keefe said. “All three are effective in helping to prevent hospitalization and death.”
Going forward, O’Keefe is confident the DCHD will continue to meet the COVID-19 vaccine requirements of area --Please turn to page 12.
New Horizons
New Horizons is the official publication of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging. The paper is distributed free to people over age 60 in Douglas, Sarpy, Dodge, Washington, and Cass counties. Those living outside the five-county region may subscribe for $5 annually. Address all correspondence to: Jeff Reinhardt, Editor,
4780 S. 131st Street, Omaha, NE 68137-1822. Phone 402-444-6654. FAX 402-444-3076. E-mail: jeff.reinhardt@enoa.org
Advertisements appearing in New Horizons do not imply endorsement of the advertiser by the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging. However, complaints about advertisers will be reviewed and, if warranted, their advertising discontinued. Display and insert advertising rates available on request. Open rates are commissionable, with discounts for extended runs. Circulation is 9,000 through direct mail .
Editor....................................................Jeff Reinhardt Ad Mgr................Mitch Laudenback, 402-444-4148 Contributing Writers.........Nick Schinker & Leo Biga
ENOA Board of Governors: Mary Ann Borgeson, Douglas County, chairperson; Janet McCartney, Cass County, vice-chairperson; Lisa Kramer, Washington County, secretary; Pat Tawney, Dodge County, & Angi Burmeister, Sarpy County.
