KHON2 reports that Kupuna Power has opened a branch at Windward Mall in Honolulu, Hawaii. Kapuna Power aims to help Hawaiian seniors access the resources they need to prosper in their later years. It started as a one-day event in 2012 founded by former Sen. Brickwood Galuteria as a day to provide seniors exercise, entertainment, and information on how to take control of their life. The brand has since expanded to include a TV program, civic outreach, and a retail product line. Windward Mall General Manager Cesar Topacio in a press release wrote: "Kupuna have always been a valued part of our community and we are excited to help create a space tailored to their needs."

A study in the Journals of Gerontology: Series B showed that agriculture workers are at greater risk of developing dementia, reports KHQA . University of Iowa (UI) College of Public Health researchers used data from the Health and Retirement Study to determine agriculture workers scored lower on memory, attention, and processing speed tests. Those who held long-term occupations in agriculture, forestry, and fishery had a 46 percent greater chance of having dementia. "As far as Iowans are concerned, this study is important for two reasons," said UI Professor Kanika Arora. "How to remain productive on the farm and how to maintain safety given memory loss, language problems, and other unpredictable behaviors that come with dementia." Scientists cannot directly examine the role of pesticide exposure to dementia, but previous studies on the amount of exposure to agriculture workers indicate the same test scores.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Wisconsin health officials are asking local pharmacies to help supply COVID-19 vaccinations at small assisted living communities that may not be served by pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services said CVS and Walgreens have had problems in other states setting up vaccine clinics at smaller communities. Wisconsin has over 4,000 assisted living communities, with up to 3,000 having 10 beds or fewer. CVS and Walgreens have faced criticism nationally for the slow rate of their immunizations, especially in assisted living communities. Most people who live and work in assisted living in Wisconsin have not yet been inoculated, despite being prioritized for vaccination. CVS and Walgreens have only just commenced administering shots at the state's assisted living communities, while Wisconsin was the last state to launch the federal program for vaccinating assisted living residents. State health officials have asked independent pharmacies to take the place of CVS or Walgreens and provide doses at some smaller assisted living communities to get them the vaccine "as soon as possible."

KTNV 13 reports that the U.S. National Institute of Aging and the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation have awarded five-year grants of $3.2 million and $1.4 million, respectively, to researchers from the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health to study the therapeutic possibilities of the anti-cancer drug lenalidomide in early-stage Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The team will conduct complementary clinical studies to identify whether lenalidomide lowers inflammation and other disease-related neuropathological features, and enhances cognition in MCI patients. Lenalidomide is a multi-purpose agent that has demonstrated several effects on the immune system in cancer patients. The hope is that the investigations will yield an approach for targeting multiple Alzheimer's neuropathologies simultaneously. As a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration, lenalidomide's safety and toxicity profiles are pre-established, which will help expedite testing and progression in Alzheimer's clinical studies if the current project is successful.

Reuters reports that Pope Francis on Sunday proclaimed "World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly" in the Roman Catholic Church to be marked once a year to honor seniors and highlight their societal value. He said this would be marked for the fourth Sunday of July each year in Catholic communities worldwide. The Pope has often urged society to cherish seniors as a source of wisdom and experience, and he has criticized a "throwaway culture" that ostracizes older men and women because they are no longer productive.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's administration announced Monday that Minnesotans 65 and up can access more than 35,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at approximately 100 clinics, hospitals, and community sites, reports KARE 11 . "Not everyone has a doctor or pharmacy they're familiar with," Walz stated. "That's why we've built up a reliable network of different ways Minnesotans will be able to access the vaccine. After careful planning, we're now activating that network to give Minnesotans options close to home." In addition to the expanded network, Minnesota will continue to operate existing community vaccination sites, whose shots will be made available by random draw. Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm cautioned that the additional doses will not significantly boost vaccinations. Minnesota will see the largest number of doses yet — about 98,000 — distributed statewide this week. About half will continue to go to Phase 1a recipients like group homes and healthcare workers, while roughly 35 percent is going to providers to vaccinate people 65 and older.

Many seniors who qualify for COVID vaccines in South Carolina's Lowcountry region are inundated by the process of getting an appointment, and some have even had to delay needed surgeries while they wait to get the vaccine, reports WCSC-Charleston CBS 5 . However, hospitals like Roper St. Francis and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) are permitting most non-emergent surgeries, despite higher bed occupancy rates on account of COVID infections and other medical necessities. MUSC's Heather Woolwine said the university does require COVID testing for surgeries or invasive procedures before and upon hospitalization, but "depending on the size of a hospital and their policies during the pandemic, their capacity for surgeries that are categorized as non-urgent, can vary from provider to provider during this time." Neither MUSC nor Roper require patients over 70 years to get a COVID vaccine before surgery or other procedures, but some doctors recommend it for their older patients to avoid risk of exposure. "Now that we have vaccines available, I recommend patients get a COVID vaccine if possible, both for their health and their peace of mind during their hospitalization," said Lowcountry Orthopedics' Adam Schaaf.

WBIW reports that Lawrence County, Ind., Health Officer Alan Smith has extended an order to prevent visits to long-term care and assisted living communities in the country through Feb. 9. The order is to protect residents in response to a surge in positive cases of COVID-19 in the county. The mandate also could be extended further should cases continue to rise in Lawrence.

BioSpace reports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the review period for Biogen and Eisai's Biologic License Application (BLA) for aducanumab for Alzheimer's disease from March 7 to June 7. Biogen and Eisai announced near the end of 2019's first quarter that they were discontinuing the global Phase III clinical trials ENGAGE and EMERGE of aducanumab in persons with mild cognitive impairment for Alzheimer's and mild Alzheimer's dementia, as well as the EVOLVE Phase II trial and the long-term extension PRIME Phase Ib trial. But in October of that year, the companies announced plans to pursue regulatory approval for the drug, as the Phase III EMERGE trial met its primary endpoint, indicating significant decrease in clinical decline. This was apparently enough to file for a BLA, which Biogen intended to do the second quarter of 2020. In April 2020, the partners announced that while Biogen begun to submit parts of the BLA, they did not expect to complete it until the third quarter of 2021. This past November, the FDA's Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee criticized the submission, voting repeatedly against it. The most recent delay is apparently related to the FDA requesting additional analyses and clinical data, which Biogen has complied with. "We are committed to working with the FDA as it completes its review of the aducanumab application," said Biogen CEO Michel Vounatsos.

Older adults with family or friends are getting COVID-19 vaccine appointments, while those lacking such supports are lagging, reports Kaiser Health News . "I'm very concerned that barriers to getting vaccines are having unequal impact on our older population," said XinQi Dong at Rutgers University's Institute for Health, Health Policy, and Aging Research. Black and Hispanic seniors, non-native English speakers, older adults in low-income neighborhoods, frail or seriously ill seniors, and people with vision and hearing impairments are disproportionately affected by such barriers to access. "The question is 'Who's going to actually get vaccines?' — older adults who are tech-savvy, with financial resources, and family members to help them, or harder-to-reach populations?" said New York University Professor Abraham Brody. "If seniors of color and people living in poor neighborhoods can't find a way to get vaccines, you're going to see disparities that have surfaced during the pandemic widening." KHN reports that blacks are receiving inoculations at a far lower rate than whites, according to 23 states reporting vaccine data by race. Moreover, several studies found a severe lack of Internet access and online patient portal accounts with healthcare providers among black and Hispanic older adults, compared to white seniors. "It's not enough to offer technological solutions to these seniors: they need someone — an adult child, a grandchild, an advocate — who can help them engage with the healthcare system and get these vaccines," explained Preeti Malani with the University of Michigan's National Poll on Healthy Aging.