By Karen Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

"The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is considered one of the best Christmas songs of all time.  It was released on October 14, 1963 as part of the first Christmas album by singer Andy Williams. Interestingly, this song was not selected to be the promotional single for the album, but was sidelined for his song "White Christmas."

Andy Williams was active in the music industry for over 70 years and recorded 43 albums in his lifetime. He was born on December 3, 1927 in Iowa and passed away in 2012. He was well known for his classically smooth vocals. He won numerous honors including three Emmy awards for his popular television show that aired from 1962 to 1971.  

The lyrics from "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" include hosting parties, telling scary ghost stories, spending time with loved ones and roasting marshmallows. I always wondered why a Christmas song included telling ghost stories and with research, I learned it was a traditional Victorian Christmas activity. Of all of the Christmas traditions, I am glad it has fallen out of favor.  

So, is Christmas the most wonderful time of year?

The results from a November 2022 poll completed by the American Psychiatric Association reports 31% of Americans feel significant stress related to the Christmas holiday. This is a 9% increase over the same poll in 2021. This is a busy time of the year for those preparing to celebrate the holidays. When respondents were asked about the types of stress, 50% replied being able to afford the holiday gifts, 39% indicated preparing the holiday meal, and 37% said finding and securing the gifts on the lists. Forty-seven percent looked forward to seeing family, while 21% were anticipating good holiday food.  

The higher stress respondents were typically younger in age and made less than $50,000 per year. In addition, the stress levels were higher in those who were parents than in respondents who were not.  

The survey evaluated the worry level about COVID-19 compared to the results from 2021. The American public has far less concerns about COVID-19 this year than last. In 2021, 35% of the public was worried about the spread of COVID-19 during the holidays, while only 25% felt concern in 2022. In 2022, 26% feared contracting COVID-19 compared to 38% in 2021. The fear of spending time with others dropped from 30% to 18%.  

This data provokes some ideas to think about this holiday season. First, how do we relieve stress during the holidays and second, we are still in a tridemic of flu, COVID-19, and RSV. Some suggestions for the stress of holidays is to keep things simple, delegate to those who can help, feel free to say no, remember to have fun, and build in time to relax. Some other suggestions are yoga, meditate, and get enough sleep.  My favorite is to laugh!  Laughter has proven medical benefits. A study published in 2016 aptly titled SMILE showed the improved benefits to mind and body with laughter. Did you know children laugh an average of 300 to 400 times per day while adults average between 17 to 18 events a day? It is time to laugh more!

As we prepare for the holidays, it is important to include precautions for the tridemic. The CDC reports the highest number of flu cases in the United States this season since 2010. They report 8.7 million cases, 78,000 hospitalizations, and 4,500 deaths this year. The number of hospitalized cases has doubled since November 26, 2022. Laboratory testing has confirmed the current flu vaccine is active against the most reported viral cause in the United States known as influenza A H3N2. It takes two weeks after getting a flu vaccine to provide the maximal benefit. If you are thinking about visiting family and friends during the holidays, it is not too late to get the vaccine.  

RSV numbers in Ohio are still running well above average, but the numbers appear to be leveling and not increasing. There is no vaccine yet for RSV so the best advice is to use viral precautions, which are no different than COVID-19 or the flu.

The average number of cases of COVID-19 in the United States is starting to trend in an upward direction. The U.S. average for the first week of December is slightly above 57,000 cases. This is well below our peak in January 2022.  The BA.5 variant explains about 30% of the U.S. cases at the moment, which is covered in the COVID-19 bivariant vaccine. Dr. Fauci has warned of the rapid increase in cases related to BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants. These variants are highly evasive and are responsible for 60% of cases in some U.S. states.  

Let us keep this the most wonderful time of the year by taking precautions to lower our stress levels and to restrict the spread of viral illness.

ONU HealthWise is offering COVID-19 vaccines as well as flu shots Monday-Friday from 10:00-5:00 p.m. The bivalent COVID-19 vaccines are available.  Clinics are Monday-Friday from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Please call the pharmacy for more information.  

ONU HealthWise Pharmacy
419-772-3784