Synergy Private Health Fall Updates
Welcome Clinical Triage Nurse, Samantha Maynard
We continue to expand our team to provide the best possible care and service for our members. Last month we welcomed Samantha (Sam) Maynard, RN in her role as Clinical Triage Nurse. Sam is providing Dr. Parks and Dr. Pardo with leverage to be able to triage and respond to our members' clinical inquiries and related needs even more quickly. She is a seasoned nurse with significant experience in Internal Medicine having most recently worked with the MGH Internal Medicine Associates practice prior to joining Synergy. We know our members will enjoy Sam’s friendly and positive demeanor as well as her excellent capabilities and expedient work.
COVID-19 Booster Updates
While there are many updates to policy still in motion, we understand that our members have many questions about the status of COVID-19 vaccine boosters. Here is a summary of the most current information.
The Pfizer COVID booster was recently approved for use by the FDA and CDC for a limited population including:
people 65 years and older who received 2 doses of the Pfizer vaccine with the last being at least 6 mo ago
adults18-64 years old who who received 2 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and who have underlying medical conditions that place them at high risk for severe COVID disease, or who have high risk of exposure based on occupation
a third dose to complete a 3-dose vaccine series continue to be advised exclusively for those who received 2 doses of an mRNA vaccine and who are immunocompromised
We recommend the following resource to learn more.
If you are eligible for a booster, we encourage you to use VaxFinder to locate a vaccine near you or work directly with your local pharmacy (we suggest Union Pharmacy near our offices in Newton). Unfortunately, we are not able to schedule thisfor you due to your need to self-attest that you are an appropriate candidate for vaccination
For Moderna vaccine recipients, we have no recommendations yet. The potency of the dose of the Moderna vaccine is higher than the Pfizer vaccine. The question of whether or when boosters may be recommended for recipients of this vaccine is still being investigated.
For recipients of the Johnson&Johnson vaccine, we also have no recommendations yet, but expect that a booster will be advised for ~6-8 months after the initial dose. Further agency guidelines are expected in about 7 weeks. At this time recipients of the J&J vaccine are NOT advised to receive a booster of an mRNA vaccine.
We will continue to keep our members abreast of any new information we learn.
Flu vaccines in stock and advised
We have in stock both high dose and standard doses of the 2021-'22 seasonal flu vaccines. We encourage all members to obtain this vaccine either with us or at another convenient location.
We feel is it especially important to do what you can to protect yourself from flu virus this year given the risk of co-infection with COVID and/ or due to the similarity between influenza and COVID symptoms.
If you would like to schedule a vaccine appointment at our office kindly contact our team via phone, email, or via your Patient Gateway account.
Culinary Events
In case you missed it, you can find the recording of our recent Culinary Medicine Event with the world-renowned physician, scientist, and a bestselling author of “Eat to Beat Disease”, Dr. William Li, in your members archive. Don’t miss our discussion about special ingredient, broccoli sprouts, that feature the amazing bioactive sulforaphane which has everything from anti-cancer, to brain and metabolic benefits, to anti-viral activity.
We’ll be featuring more anti-cancer foods in our October event for Breast Cancer Awareness month. Save the date and join us on October 19th at 4:00 pm (invitation to follow).
SENS October Event
This October we’re joined by Sally Edwards, a professional athlete, Founder and CEO of Heart Zones, whose passion is to get America healthy and moving. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn about setting your fitness goals, using heart zones safely and effectively for fitness and staying fit at any age or level. Join us for this SENS Solution® Wellness Webinar on October 20th, 6:30 pm. Stay tuned for the invitation.
This article does not constitute the practice of medicine, healthcare advice, diagnosis or treatment. You should always talk to your healthcare provider regarding your specific medical needs.