Help Senior Loved Ones from Financial Abuse

GENERATIONS

19 How to Help Senior Loved Ones Protect Themselves from Financial Abuse

An often-overlooked aspect of elder abuse is cybercrime - and it's a problem that's getting worse. In 2020, the FBI reported a record amount of cybercrime complaints — nearly 800,000 — adding up to over $4.1 billion in losses. More than half of those losses were suffered by people aged 50 and older. "The financial consequences are staggering," said DJ Johnson, senior vice president of financial crimes risk management at Charles Schwab. "It's something we all need to prioritize, dedicate resources to address and work closely on to prevent." The FBI data shows that, on average, Americans aged 50 and over lost nearly $5 million every single day, or nearly $3,500 per minute, to cybercriminals. To protect your loved ones from financial cybercrime, the first step is awareness.

What are the scams?

While fraud can come in many forms, some criminal schemes are targeted at the senior population, including: •Romance scam: Fraudsters present themselves as potential romantic partners online to exploit their targets' desire for companionship — a desire that has grown for many who have felt isolated through the coronavirus pandemic - and eventually get access to their money. •Person in need scam: Criminals pretend to be a loved one (e.g., a grandchild) in immediate trouble and need of money right away. •Investment scam: Outreach with phony investment opportunities. •Fraud investigation scam: Criminals pose as law enforcement officials, asking for personal information or even money to help with their investigation. •Technology scam: Fraudsters appear to be a technology support team member or someone from a trusted financial institution asking for remote access to fix a fabricated technical or account issue.

Who are the perpetrators?

When we think of fraudsters, we tend to think of nameless, faceless people sitting in the dark, halfway around the world. In reality, a report by the Office of Financial Protection for Older Americans found that in 36% of cases, the victim knows the perpetrator personally. This is why caregiving should be a group effort. Bring other loved ones into the conversation, instead of leaving it in the hands of just one person. Lean on the financial institutions you keep your money with to be an extra set of eyes and ears for you. Bring other loved ones into the conversation, instead of leaving it in the hands of just one person. Lean on the financial institutions you keep your money with to be an extra set of eyes and ears for you.

How can caregivers protect senior loved ones?

For caregivers, if you're worried about your loved ones, start with this checklist to protect them: •Talk about it. Have a conversation about common scams. Discuss your loved ones' investment goals and attitudes toward money so that you can recognize irregular behavior. •Designate trusted contacts. Make sure financial institution reps know who to contact on your loved one's behalf in the event of suspected exploitation, fraud or health issues. •Get organized. Locate and safely store important financial documents, such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney, account statements, insurance policies and beneficiary designations.

Even after you put things in place for your loved ones, be vigilant:

•Check in. Regularly review and update important financial documents. •Listen. Pay attention to what your loved ones are saying and listen for worrying key phrases, such as "people are asking me for money," "my bills are confusing to me" and "I don't understand financial decisions that someone else is making for me." •Watch. Look out for red-flag behaviors, including unusual or unexplained financial activity, abrupt changes to documents, unpaid bills or mail piling up, new friends or sweethearts or confused behavior.l (BPT)

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HEALTH

20 Do I Need a COVID-19 Booster Shot? 6 Questions Answered On How to Stay Protected

BY WILLIAM PETRI THE CONVERSATION

The increasing prevalence of new coronavirus variants is raising questions about how well protected those who’ve already had their COVID-19 shots are against evolving forms of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Here, microbiology and infectious disease specialist William Petri of the University of Virginia answers some common questions about COVID-19 booster shots.

1. What is a booster shot?

Boosters are an extra dose of a vaccine given to maintain vaccine-induced protection against a disease. They are commonly used to bolster many vaccines because immunity can wear off over time. For example, the flu vaccine needs a booster every year, and the diphtheria and tetanus vaccine every 10 years. Boosters are often identical to the original vaccine. In some cases, however, the booster shot has been modified to enhance protection against new viral variants. The seasonal flu vaccine, most notably, requires an annual booster because the flu virus changes so rapidly.

2. Do I need to get a COVID-19 booster?

Not yet. As of early July 2021, none of the U.S. government authorities is recommending a booster. This includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to the CDC.

3. Why aren’t booster shots recommended yet?

While vaccine-induced immunity may not last forever, it is not clear when a booster will be needed. Encouragingly, all of the currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines induce a robust immune memory against the coronavirus. The vaccine teaches your immune system’s memory B cells to produce antibodies when you’re exposed to the virus. Researchers have detected high levels of memory B cells in the lymph nodes of people who received the Pfizer vaccine for at least 12 weeks after they got the shot. Studies also suggest that authorized COVID-19 vaccines are continuing to offer protection even against emerging strains of the coronavirus. Among one study’s participants, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine had 73% and 82% efficacy 14 days and 28 days post shot, respectively, at warding off severe disease from the beta variant. And a preliminary study that has not been peerreviewed found the Pfizer vaccine to be 88% effective against the delta variant. The other source of long-lasting anti-

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COVID-19 Booster Shot/

continued from page 20 body responses against the coronavirus is cells called plasmablasts that reside in bone marrow. These cells continuously produce antibodies and do not require boosting to maintain their activity. Fortunately, plasmablasts have been detected in the bone marrow of people who received the COVID-19 vaccine for up to 11 months, indicating some degree of long-lasting immune memory.

4. How will I know if I need a booster?

You may need to wait for an outbreak in people who have been vaccinated. Researchers are still figuring out the best way to measure the strength of someone’s vaccine-induced immunity. The COVID-19 vaccines have been so effective that there are not many failures to test. The best candidate to measure are certain antibodies the vaccine induces the immune system to make. They recognize the spike protein that allows the coronavirus to enter and infect cells. Evidence supporting the importance of anti-spike antibodies includes a study showing that the somewhat more effective mRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna generate higher antibody levels in the blood than the adenovirus vector vaccines like Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. In a preliminary study that has not yet been peer-reviewed, anti-spike antibody levels were lower in people who caught COVID-19 after they were vaccinated with the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine. Medical workers would love to be able to give patients a blood test that would tell them how well protected they are or aren’t against COVID-19. That would be a clear indication as to whether a booster shot is needed. But until researchers know for sure how to measure vaccine-induced immunity, the next indication that boosters may be needed are breakthrough infections in older adults who have already been vaccinated. People over the age of 80 make lower levels of antibodies after vaccination, so their immunity may wane sooner than that of the general population. The elderly would also most likely be the most susceptible to new viral variants that evade the protection current vaccines provide.

5. I’m immunocompromised – should I worry?

Boosters may be necessary for immunocompromised people. In one study, 39 of 40 kidney transplant recipients and a third of dialysis patients failed to make antibodies after vaccination. Another study identified 20 patients with rheumatic or musculoskeletal diseases on medications that suppress the immune system who also did not have detectable antibodies. Both of these studies were done after patients received the full vaccine dose. Boosters have been shown to help in these cases. In one study, one-third of solid organ transplant patients who had a suboptimal response to two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines were able to develop an antibody response with a third dose. Those who are immunocompromised may wonder if the vaccine they received is successfully generating immunity in their body. A preliminary study that has not yet been peer-reviewed did find that a test that specifically targets the antispike antibodies the vaccines trigger may be helpful in determining whether the vaccine worked. But for now, the FDA does not recommend antibody tests to assess immunity.

6. Does my booster need to match my first shots?

Likely not. Recent research has shown that mRNA vaccines, like Pfizer and Moderna, can be mixed with adenovirus-based vaccines like AstraZeneca with comparable results. l

Article corrected to indicate that the Johnson & Johnson study measured efficacy rather than effectiveness against severe disease from the beta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19.

William A. Petri Jr., M.D., Ph.D., studies immunology and molecular pathogenesis of enteric infections and their consequences. Petri leads the PROVIDE study of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that is exploring in Bangladesh and India the pathogenesis of enteric environmental dysfunction (EED). He is a Professor of Medicine, University of Virginia

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It’s Not Just Adams vs. Sliwa: Long-Shot Mayoral Candidates Line Up for November

BY RACHEL HOLLIDAY SMITH THE CITY

Eric Adams has good reason to take his post-mayoral-primary victory lap. With registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans nearly 7-to-1 in New York City, it’s not unreasonable to think he’ll win the general election over GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa in November. But their names won’t be the only ones on the ballot. Half a dozen independent candidates have already secured spots for the general election — and the fate of one potentially important ballot line, from the Working Families Party, is not yet clear. Ravi Mangla, a WFP spokesperson, told THE CITY Thursdays that “no decision has been made” about who will appear on its line in November. The party’s state officers “will be making a decision on the WFP ballot line for the mayoral race in the coming weeks,” he added. The WFP is one of just four political parties — along with the Democrats, Republicans and the Conservative Party — with guaranteed slots on New York ballots thanks to new vote threshold rules passed by Albany last year. Following concessions this week from Maya Wiley and Kathryn Garcia, the Democrats have their presumed nominee in Adams. Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, sealed the Republican slot on June 22, primary night. And former police detective Bill Pepitone is running on the Conservative line, having faced no primary challengers. In the case of the WFP, the party has petitioned to install longtime Make the Road nonprofit leader Deborah Axt as a placeholder for the line. But “her fate is to be replaced,” longtime election attorney Sarah Steiner told THE CITY earlier this spring. (In a quirk of election law, Axt will have to be nominated for a judgeship if she’s removed.) The WFP endorsed Maya Wiley in the mayoral race, but she has no plans to run on that line, her campaign told THE CITY Thursday. She would not accept the ballot line if offered it, said her spokesperson, Eric Koch.

A Crowded Field

Meanwhile, several alternative-party candidates are vying for mayor — including one who already flunked a primary. Fernando Mateo, who lost the Republican race by roughly 40 percentage points to Sliwa, will appear on the November ballot with the “Save Our City” party, according to the Board of Elections. An inquiry to the Mateo campaign was not returned. He is not the only one making a run for it with lesser-known parties. According to BOE petition records, at least five independent candidates, including Mateo, nabbed a spot on the general election ballot outside of the four ballot-line parties. They did it by gathering at least 3,750 signatures from voters, then submitting them to the BOE before a May 25 deadline. Dr. Raja Flores, a thoracic surgeon and mesothelioma expert at Mt. Sinai Hospital, is running under the Humanity United Party, BOE records show. He told THE CITY in May he is seeking the top municipal office because he believes neither major party has solved some of the city’s most intractable problems, including the decline of public housing. “My sense is that both parties are compromised,” he said. “What happened in NYCHA over the past several decades — it just continued to get worse.” Quanda Francis, a Brooklyn native and owner of the financial-technology firm Sykes Capital Management, successfully petitioned to appear on the ballot in November with the Empowerment Party, according to her campaign and BOE

Surgeon Dr. Raja Flores. Photo courtesy Raja Flores Eric Adams. Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com Fernando Mateo. Photo: Hiram Alejandro Durán/THE CITY

records. Stacey Prussman, also from Brooklyn, is running as a Libertarian, according to her campaign and BOE petition records. Prussman is a stand-up comedian, radio host and animal rights activist. Queens public school teacher and socialist organizer Cathy Rojas is also joining the November fray. Rojas launched her run in late June and will appear on the general election ballot with the “Party for Socialism and Liberation,” or PSL, BOE records show. At her campaign kick-off event — held at a Harlem church occupied by the activist group the Young Lords in 1969 — Rojas spoke of her goal of a “socialist reorganization of society” to provide food, education, health care and employment for all, according to Liberation, a newspaper of the PSL.

Never Forget

While New York is by and large a Democratic town, mayors have been elected with the backing of other parties in very recent history. Mike Bloomberg, a one-time Democrat, won the job running as a Repubican with the post-9/11 endorsement of incumbent Rudy Giuliani in 2001. Bloomberg then won re-election in 2009 by also running on the now-defunct Independence Party ballot line, after contributing over $1 million to that party. (He later rejoined the Democrats years after leaving office and briefly sought the party’s 2020 presidential nomination.) And Giuliani himself won City Hall in 1993 and 1997 with the help of the nowdefunct Liberal Party while also running on the Republican line. Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, also ran on the Working Families Party line in his successful bids for mayor. Despite the relatively large array of contestants in the Nov. 2 general election, it will not feature ranked choice voting like the primary, so there’s little chance of lower-profile candidates collaborating against any of the front runners.l

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