Can You Guess the Word of the Year?

Hint: This 3-letter word has proved polarizing.

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By Anisa Arsenault, Associate Editorial Director The Oxford English Dictionary has announced its word of the year: vax. Oxford lexicographers say the word—and its derivatives (vax card, vax sites, vaxxed)—was used about 72 times more frequently this year than last year. Today's Top Story Are You Feeling Vaxxed Out? Considering how much we're talking about getting vaxxed, the Verywell editors expected a heightened awareness of all sorts of vaccines this year—not just COVID. Surely people would be lining up to get flu shots as soon as they were available.   That's not what's happening.   As Verywell's Shamard Charles, MD, MPH, explains, "convincing people to get yet another jab has proven difficult."   Charles is a practicing physician and a professor of public health at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York. From his perspective, people are sick of being told to get vaccinated. And healthcare providers are still so bogged down with coronavirus, there's been little bandwidth to apply the successes of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout to this year's flu vaccine rollout.   "Mobilizing flu vaccines after battling COVID-19 for two years is exhausting," Charles says. "It's not an excuse for slow-moving initiatives, but it is indicative of vaccine fatigue." Know More Researchers are working on a universal flu shot to protect against any influenza strain. This could eliminate the need for an annual flu shot, lessening the "fatigue" of getting another vaccine every year. Feel Better One of the biggest blockers to getting a flu shot is access. To combat access issues, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is upping the number of flu shots available and bringing them directly to communities that need them. Recent initiatives include drive-through programs, pop-up clinics, and a mobile health unit. READ MORE At Verywell, we've been talking about vaccines a lot more, too. While we don't often use the word "vax," our usage of the word "vaccine" is way up. In 2020, we published 198 new articles that mentioned the word "vaccine." In 2021, that number jumped to 744. Managing Your Blood Pressure Can Keep Your Brain Young New research suggests that managing your blood pressure—and even keeping it a bit below the normal range of 120/80 mmHg—may slow the rate at which your brain ages. But it's not exactly the fountain of youth. Researchers found that study participants with lower-than-average blood pressure rates had "brain ages" at least six months younger than their chronological ages. READ MORE Don't Panic About Delta Plus Back in July, the Delta variant became the dominant COVID-19 strain in the U.S. Now, a descendant of this variant may be poised to do the same. The AY.4.2 variant, known as Delta plus, is gaining ground in the U.K. While it may be more transmissible than Delta, experts say they currently have no reason to believe it causes more severe disease or reduces vaccine effectiveness. READ MORE   Shamard Charles, MD, MPH, reminds people to stay vigilant—even as COVID-19 seems to be the new normal. Americans have come to accept that COVID-19 is here to stay, which brings with it an air of naivety. When a disease becomes commonplace, it is more likely for people to downplay its threat to society. During these times, I've had to remind patients that both the flu and COVID-19 virus are potentially deadly, so vaccination against both is needed to protect them from illness and death. Shamard Charles, MD, MPH Assistant professor of public health and health promotion at St. Francis College   Keep Reading   ■ There Is No Such Thing as a Sugar Rush. Elemental     ■ A Heart Attack, a Rescue and a Recovery at the Boston Marathon. ESPN     ■ Your Public School Kid's Lunch Might Be Served on a Pizza Slice Box. Here's Why. NPR More From Verywell Best Senior Meal Delivery Services READ MORE Coping With Irritable Bowel Syndrome READ MORE Heart Disease: Men vs. Women READ MORE   How'd we do? If you have any feedback, send us a note at   feedback@verywell.com.       You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the Verywell Health newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here.   A DOTDASH BRAND 28 Liberty Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10005   © 2021 verywellhealth.com - All rights reserved. Privacy Policy