GSA Keeps COVID-19 Resources Relevant with New Updates

By CEO James Appleby, BSPharm, MPH

When the pandemic unfolded last year, my admiration for the GSA membership was once again reaffirmed when our newly formed GSA COVID-19 Task Force and existing National Adult Vaccination Program Workgroup began rolling out an impressive array of resources to help all of us make sense of emerging information about COVID-19 and its impact on older adults.

And it’s important to know their work is continuing, and updates have been made to existing tools as we gain new knowledge, particularly in the area of vaccines.

GSA’s COVID-19 Decision Aid has been refreshed to reflect the decreased risk of COVID-19 disease spread when individuals or those around them are vaccinated. This interactive tool (also available in PDF format in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Mandarin) is designed to help people determine what their risk tolerance and risk factors are. It guides users through a series of questions that are based on their interests and the activity’s level of risk. Working step-by-step through this decision aid may help individuals clarify the reasons for doing or not doing an activity where other people are present.

The COVID-19 Vaccine Information for Older Adults page on the GSA website has also received several updates. It’s intended for GSA members who work with older adults and wish to support conversations about COVID-19 vaccines. If you have been getting questions on this topic that you feel should be included on the information page, send an email to covid19@geron.org. As I’ve blogged previously, we all can contribute to improving public understanding of the vaccine and supporting those who administer it.