LeadingAge Joins HHS in New National Public Health Campaign

WASHINGTON—LeadingAge, an association of nonprofit providers of aging services, has partnered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) new national campaign—“Risk Less. Do More.”—to raise awareness of the latest vaccines for influenza (flu), COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). LeadingAge and HHS aim to provide important information on these common respiratory viruses and on the latest vaccines to all U.S. residents, especially those at risk of severe illness.

Through the partnership, LeadingAge will be sharing research-based campaign messages and materials with members, in effort to inform and protect communities from contagious respiratory viruses.

“LeadingAge is committed to ensuring the health and safety of older Americans and the people that care for them,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and chief executive officer of LeadingAge. “The ‘Risk Less. Do More.’ campaign will help our nonprofit, mission-driven provider members educate the older adults and families they serve about the vaccines for these illnesses, which in turn, will improve the health of their entire community.”

“The activities and events we will be collaborating on will help the campaign reach people across the country,” said May Malik, deputy assistant secretary of public affairs for public education at HHS. “As we know, vaccines are our best defense against flu, COVID-19 and RSV. Our goal with this partnership is to provide accurate and timely information so that the American people can make informed decisions about getting vaccinated this fall and winter.”

The flu, COVID-19 and RSV continue to impact the United States. During a six-month period during the 2023-2024 fall and winter seasons, these infections caused 800,000 hospitalizations. Without immunization, the risk of serious illness remains highest among adults ages 65 and older, residents of long-term care homes, pregnant people and those living in rural areas. More information on LeadingAge’s campaign involvement can be found here.