Coronavirus

I got my third Covid booster today at a Walgreens pharmacy. It was the new dual action booster that protects against original Covid and the newish Omicron variant that's highly contagious. It's been over five months since my last booster, so I was due for an antibody rejuvenation. Overdue, actually, since the newest booster is recommended for anyone who got their previous  booster or initial two shots at least two months ago. I also got a flu shot at the same time.  So today's pharmacy visit worked out well. Laurel, my wife, was scheduled to get her Covid booster yesterday,…

Last Friday, Bill Maher had Bari Weiss, a writer and podcaster, on his HBO Real Time show. Weiss said that she was "done with Covid," which led to she and Maher engaging in an irritating diatribe against Covid restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. If you have a high tolerance for largely fact-free ranting, here's a You Tube video of that part of the show. The Democratic congressman from New York is a breath of fresh air, but he wasn't able to correct all of the misstatements made by Weiss and Maher. Joe Berkowitz provides a counterpoint…

This isn't exactly a politically correct sentiment, but it's how I feel. There should be a statute of limitations on mourning the 2,996 people who died in the 9/11 attack twenty years ago. I say this because our country has a nasty habit of getting all emotional about the wrong things. Or to put it differently, not getting all emotional about the right things.  Yes, it was a tragedy that so many people died and suffered as a result of the 9/11 attack. But the current number of Covid deaths in the United States is 659,556 -- 220 times the…

Back in November 2020 I was deeply disappointed when John Miller, the owner of Courthouse Club Fitness here in Salem, defied Governor Brown's order for gyms to close for two weeks because COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations were rising so rapidly in Oregon. (See "Courthouse Club Fitness defies Governor's order to close for two weeks") Starting yesterday, August 13, 2021, Governor Brown has mandated mask-wearing in indoor public spaces due to... COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rising so rapidly in Oregon. As the familiar saying goes, it's deja vu all over again.  Well, one personal difference is that in November 2020 I…

Thanks for nothing, unvaccinated people in Salem and the rest of Marion County. Because of you, I've starting wearing a mask when I exercise at Courthouse Club Fitness. This selfie I took in the circuit weight training room today isn't very flattering. But the gloomy old man look did mirror my mood, since I much prefer not wearing a mask while using the Stairmaster or lifting weights. I wasn't alone. Several other older people were wearing masks. First time I've seen this since rejoining the club after it appeared that Covid was in a marked decline in our area. But…

Well, it was nice to be maskless for a couple of weeks. I enjoyed the feeling of normalcy when I went into stores or coffee shops. But today I looked like this while shopping at Trader Joe's, Fred Meyer, and LifeSource. I was carrying my mask when I walked into Trader Joe's, my first stop.  For a few seconds I was uncertain whether to mask up. Then I put my mask on, because that felt like the right thing to do. I had plenty of company. Around a third of Trader Joe's customers were wearing masks, young, old, and in-between,…

This is a bad time to get complacent about COVID-19, unvaccinated people in Salem and the rest of Marion County. The Delta variant is much more transmissible. Covid cases are rising markedly nationally. Increases in deaths likely will follow. It's beyond crazy that so many people are refusing to get vaccinated. New cases and deaths are almost entirely among the unvaccinated. Since vaccines are readily available, virtually all hospitalizations and deaths are preventable.  Why would anyone choose to risk serious illness or death when a vaccine is free, safe, and highly effective? Often the answer is misinformation and right-wing politics. …

The Salem Reporter has a story about the Glamour Salon owner deciding to call it quits. Glamour Salon, owned by Lindsey Graham, has reached out to the city of Salem about terminating the lease at its current location at 195 Liberty St S.E., according to Clint Dameron, the city’s real property services manager. ...In May last year, Graham publicly reopened her salon in violation of Gov. Kate Brown’s orders intended to slow the spread of Covid. Following the move, Graham was lionized by business owners and others who’ve argued the governor’s orders went too far, making appearances on right-leaning media,…

I'm 72. My wife is 71. We've fortunate to be fully vaccinated with two Pfizer shots owing to some unusually lucky circumstances.  It irks me, big time, that Governor Brown and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) have decided to make our state a leader in failing to prioritize seniors for immunization.  Oregon is one of only a few states that decided to vaccinate teachers before seniors. Back on January 16, I wrote about this stupid decision in "Outrage: Oregon seniors to get Covid vaccine after teachers." This is a hugely irresponsible decision that is going to cause many old people…

Last weekend Salem's Enlightened Theatrics reportedly broke the Oregon Health Authority Covid rules by having in-person performances of a student production of Les Miserables that exceeded what is allowed for indoor entertainment. l've heard that at Saturday night's performance over 70 people were in attendance, food and beverages were sold and consumed, and some people were unmasked. Here's what is allowed for an Extreme Risk county, which Marion County is. The Enlightened Theatrics auditorium is over 500 square feet, so they could have only six people at each performance. Food and drink can't be consumed indoors. So it appears that…

If Oregon seniors weren't so justifiably afraid of coming down with COVID-19, they should be marching in the streets after Governor Brown announced yesterday that those 65+ would have to wait in line behind teachers to get vaccinated. This is a hugely irresponsible decision that is going to cause many old people to die.  According to the Oregon Health Authority, those 60 and over comprise 17% of Covid cases in the state and a whopping 91% of the Covid deaths. Yet Brown said at a press conference that I watched via You Tube that children are suffering from distance learning…

Remember the saying popularized after the 9/11 attacks: "If you see something, say something."  That's the patriotic thing to do if you're aware of a danger to your community. These days it isn't so much terrorism that we have to be worried about. It is people and businesses not complying with public health measures, such as mask-wearing, needed to save lives and prevent illness from COVID-19. So don't be shy about complaining to the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health division if a business is being lax about requiring that masks be worn by employees and customers, or is failing to…

This is really disappointing. John Miller, the Courthouse Club Fitness owner, has decided to defy Governor Brown's order for gyms to close for two weeks beginning tomorrow because COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising so rapidly in Oregon. Here's part of an Oregon Health Authority graphic.Miller has decided that making money is more important than the safety of his employees, club members, and the public at large. He has joined the ranks of irrational anti-science right-wingers around the country who believe that public health orders needed to slow the skyrocketing COVID-19 cases are government overreach that must be fought. What's…