With the rise of the Delta variant, which is infecting younger people, the need to break through vaccination hesitation/misinformation has become even more urgent--for us all.
Category: coronavirus
About Those First-Ever Covid-19 Vaccines Nearing Approval…
I think I’m like many Americans—probably many people worldwide—in my reactions to the news that two vaccines appear close to receiving FDA approval and the beginnings of distribution. A total of five are currently in phase 3 (safety trials). With the numbers of people infected and dying seemingly out of control, we are clearly in dire conditions and in desperate need of effective interventions. No question. My Concerns…
A Tale of Two Calamities
Oh, the irony! This is the week that my husband and I were scheduled to be in Alaska. The purpose of the cruise on a small ship was to learn from expert lecturers and see firsthand the devastation of climate change on the animals and environment. We felt a sense of urgency to make this trip while the locale was still viable. Obviously, the trip was cancelled due to COVID-19. We were supposed to meet the tour guide and group in Seattle, where the air quality a few days ago was rated the third worst in the world. In the scheme of things, I’m certainly not complaining about our lost vacation. We are safe in our home. But in the larger sense…
A Doctor’s Mask Worn Awry Leads Me to Promising New COVID-19 Research
I had an appointment with a substitute doctor this week. Attesting to his renown, his office walls were crowded with yearly awards demonstrating his leadership in his field.
He is a hematologist/oncologist. I was there to receive one of the twice-yearly injections I receive for osteoporosis. The same medication is given in greater strength and frequency to cancer patients to prevent bone fractures.
As he leaned forward to give me the injection, his mask was comfortably positioned beneath his nose.
I was distressed by his apparent carelessness: the man deals with cancer patients all day long, for goodness sake.
After Dogs Detecting COVID-19, What’s Next?
You may recall my recent post describing studies that demonstrate how accurately dogs can sniff out COVID-19. The answer to “What’s Next?” may be found on your wrist right now.
“Wearables” outfitted with artificial intelligence (AI) to report back health data may send a message to asymptomatic or presymptomatic people with the virus before they spread the disease. That means Fitbits, smartwatches, and heart rate monitors that cardiac patients strap to their wrists may help us fight against those dreaded spikes we’re seeing nationwide. The key is that these wristlets monitor heart rate.
Paging Dr. Dog! Another Weapon in the Battle Against COVID-19
We often see them in airports, sniffing around for drugs and other questionable substances. Now, it seems, dogs are being trained to use their powerful sniffers (aka snouts) to detect the coronavirus.
Frogs Do It, Bees Do It–Even Educated “We’s” Do It…
I altered the first line of an old song (“Let’s Fall in Love”) to shamelessly draw you in to a discussion of an important topic.
As an intro, here’s a little Haiku for These Times
Social distancing—
Ants isolate selves when ill
Healthy queen makes room.
Why are ants so much smarter than a growing number of humans? I’m speaking now of the American variety (of humans, not ants), but surely there are others.
The President’s Daily Coronavirus Briefings–What Do You Think the Press Should Do? My Reassessment
In my April 8 post on this topic, I expressed some ambivalence about the idea that the press should no longer cover the President’s daily briefings live at all. I certainly didn’t feel they needed to show the two-plus hour nightly events in their soul-sapping entirety, but I also wondered whether disbanding live coverage completely might be a bad precedent.
I felt that the press should try to find a compromise by airing a portion and then cutting away, rather than dropping long-held norms just because he was slashing and burning them.
On Friday, I heard Eli Stokols, a White House reporter for the Los Angeles Times, say that covering this President raises profound problems for the press and is in fact, the central issue for them at this point.
Why Are Women World Leaders Combating the Coronavirus Pandemic So Well–and What Does This Tell Us About Leadership?
With the world caught in the vortex of the pandemic, it’s clear that some of the best results to date have occurred in countries that have elected women as their leaders. Indeed, an article in The Guardian bore this headline:
"The Secret Weapon in the Fight Against Coronavirus: Women."
I find this phenomenon intriguing and have been wondering what lessons might emerge to help us going forward. There seem to be several commonalities among these women.
The President’s Daily Coronavirus Briefings: What Do You Think the Press Should Do?
There is no doubt that in the midst of this fearsome pandemic, the calm factual voice of a trustworthy leader is sorely needed. But what we are getting from this President are not the Fireside Chats that President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to calm the nation. This President’s litany of falsehoods, which began on Day One when his hapless then-Communications Director lied about the size of the crowds, has ruled him out as that persona.
Living Through a Pandemic: The Lighter Side
Please don’t get me wrong: I am appalled, shocked, infuriated, and beyond sadness at what’s become of our country and world.
But I also know that laughter is the best medicine, and even smiling has been shown to have a positive effect on our immune systems. As we all need our immune systems to be as strong as possible now, I thought I’d tell you some fun things—a few real, others of undetermined origins that have found their way to my inbox. (I hope you haven't seen them already!)
CORONAVIRUS STIMULUS RELIEF PACKAGE(S): A Questioning Acrostic
Catastrophic delays
Of equipment for patients and carers
Reveal huge flaws in America’s design.
One thing I do
Not hear discussed
Applies to the “have nots’”
Vying for their tiny share of
Income from the supposed stimulus:
Registering their presence without
Use of computers and Internet?
Shadowy reminders of those we forget.
More Notes From a COVID-19 Epicenter: Fighting This Thing Alone–Together
Events are moving very rapidly. Less than a week after I published my post about life in self-quarantine in an epicenter of the pandemic, far more Americans are in similar situations—some in mandatory lockdown, which I suspect will arrive in my community soon.
In my previous post, I described being in a hard-hit area with a local hospital whose CEO was profoundly worried about running out of ventilators for patients and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for hospital staff. When staff members become ill, obviously, there’s no one to treat patients.
Notes From a COVID-19 Epicenter: Our Quarantine Begins
This wasn’t the post I’d originally planned to publish. That one can wait for another time. This post is more timely. And since my story may become your story—if it hasn’t already—I thought I should tell it to you now.
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