By GREGORY ZELLER //
Don’t believe all that noise about New Yorkers being a nasty lot – it’s a bunch of hogwash, according to the latest Mount Sinai South Nassau Truth in Medicine Poll.
Titled “Truth About Managing Holiday Stress,” the poll – sponsored by Bethpage Federal Credit Union, conducted by Louisiana-based strategic research firm LJR Custom Strategies and released Dec. 19 – found that most Long Island and New York City residents would land on Santa’s nice list in 2024.
Only 20 percent of the 600 Big Apple and Long Island adults (ages 18-65) contacted by landline and cellphone between Dec. 11 and Dec. 17 said they found their fellow New Yorkers to be “basically selfish.”
The lion’s share of respondents (roughly 75 percent) labeled New Yorkers “basically good” – so good, in fact, that only 24 percent said they expected political divisions to play a role in their holiday gatherings.
Adhi Sharma: Joy and good will and all that.
“Truth About Managing Holiday Stress” marked the third Truth in Medicine Poll of 2024 and 22nd overall since the Oceanside-based flagship of NYC’s Mount Sinai Health System kicked off the occasional survey in 2017 (before it had officially merged with the Mount Sinai system).
The last poll – “Truth About Cell Phones,” released in September 2024 – focused on screen time, school-based phone bans and other issues related to cellphone use by minors. That followed “Truth About Medical Aid in Dying,” which was released last July and zeroed in on physician-assisted death.
With the 2024 holiday season in full swing, pollsters laser-locked this time on holiday-related stressors like spiraling costs, to-do deadlines and, of course, political discord around the dinner table.
While a quarter of respondents did predict that MAGA-flavored disputes would surface in family settings, an overwhelming majority – 61 percent – said they did not expect politics to intrude on their holiday festivities.
That’s a very good sign, according to Mount Sinai South Nassau President Adhi Sharma, who noted that “remaining optimistic is a good start on the road to improved health.”
“It is encouraging at this time of year to find that most New Yorkers and Long Islanders are optimistic about their neighbors,” Sharma added. “The holiday season is a reminder of the good within all of us and fulfills the promise of perpetual hope, generosity and joy.”
Enough to make you sick: National norovirus outbreaks have been on a steady rise since August — and they spiked dramatically over the holidays. (Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
While optimism and joy are powerful emotions, they can be difficult to sustain during a holiday season that packs in significant stressors. According to the poll, money weighed heavily on many minds, with 45 percent of respondents reporting they were unable to buy all the groceries they needed at least once in 2024.
On the other end of that scale (literally), the specter of celebratory food binging also loomed large: 55 percent of respondents reported being “very concerned” or “concerned” about the likelihood of gaining weight during the holidays.
Meanwhile, there’s no denying that the holiday season – with its bustling shopping malls, jam-packed airports and other crowded venues – is a breeding ground for contagious illnesses.
Respiratory syncytial virus cases are currently at their highest levels since last January, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; following a long lull, COVID-19 cases are spiking across the country; and this week, norovirus cases continued to surge around Greater New York.
Aaron Glatt: Shot in the arm.
With those realities in mind, pollsters asked respondents if illness fears were compounding their holiday stress levels – and 63 percent noted they were “concerned about getting sick with COVID-19 or flu.”
However, 58 percent of respondents reported that they had received a seasonal flu shot and 49 percent said they’d received the latest COVID-19 vaccine – good but not great numbers, according to Aaron Glatt, Mount Sinai South Nassau’s chief of infectious diseases, who noted that “individuals who are especially vulnerable and have not recently had COVID-19 and/or received one of the 2023 or 2024 booster shots should get the new vaccine for enhanced protection from getting a severe case of the disease.”
“One of the best ways to stay healthy is to stay up to date on your flu and COVID-19 vaccines,” added Glatt, who is also chairman of the hospital’s Department of Medicine. “Both the flu and COVID-19 remain major causes of serious illness and hospitalization.
“The vaccines can help you from getting seriously ill.”
Everything in “Truth About Managing Holiday Stress” – from promising hopes about family gatherings to good advice about vaccines to shared concerns about overeating – is useful to those who read the poll, according to Bethpage Federal Credit Union President and CEO Linda Armyn.
“We are proud to be a partner of Mount Sinai South Nassau’s mission to provide you with health information and awareness education,” Armyn said in a statement, adding the intel would help people “experience good health and quality time spent with loved ones and friends throughout the holiday season and 365 days a year.”
