Tag Archives: COVID

medical news

Yes, bring on the vaccine!

1 Comment

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I am astonished to learn that about one-third of Americans polled say they wouldn’t take a COVID vaccine if it is offered to them.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that two-thirds of us would take it.

You may count me as one American who is ready and more than willing to take the shot in my arm when it becomes available to folks such as me.

I am an elderly American. However, I suffer from zero pre-existing conditions. Which means I am a bit down the list of recipients. That’s OK. I am fine with that. The first responders need it now, as do nursing home residents.

Pfizer and Moderna both boast of 95 percent efficacy in their proposed vaccines. From what I have heard that is an exceptional success rate. Docs are calling it “extraordinary.” That is good enough for me.

I want to take the vaccine. I have long been a proponent of mandatory vaccines for children. I took them all as a kid because Mom and Dad insisted I become immunized against childhood illness. I passed that insistence on to my own sons when they were in school.

An anxious nation awaits Food and Drug Administration approval of the Pfizer vaccine. I am one anxious American. If the FDA gives it a “go,” and if the drug firm is able to get it distributed, I will wait patiently for my turn.

When they call my name, I will be there to take the vaccine.

local news, medical news

Wear a mask … dammit!

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

This item comes to me via social media from a friend of mine who lives in Amarillo, where my wife and I lived for 23 years before relocating in 2018 to Collin County.

My friend writes: The Amarillo “statistical metropolitan area” i.e. Potter and Randall counties, has 357 COVID-19 deaths. With a population of 265,053, that puts our deaths per million at 1,346 which is higher than all but 5 of the 50 states. Out of 220 countries only 4 have a higher death rate. Respect science. Respect your neighbor. Wear a Mask.

There you go. How in the world does one argue with that? How do you dismiss the advice given to us by infectious disease experts who tell us until they get hoarse to don masks, to observe social distancing, to stay away from indoor crowds, to wash your hands frequently?

Yet some of us are doing that. They are dismissing the advice. They are rebelling against government seeking to protect us from a deadly virus. Spoiler alert: The COVID virus has killed 280,000-plus Americans already and the death rate is accelerating.

President-elect Joe Biden plans to do two things when he takes office next month. One is that he will issue a directive that orders anyone working or doing business on federal property to wear masks; the other is that he is going to ask all Americans to wear a mask for the first 100 days of the Biden administration.

I hear you, Mr. President-elect. If only the rest of us would follow your lead.

national news

Rudy tests positive for COVID … why don’t I feel badly?

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

The man once known as America’s Mayor but who has become a laughingstock lawyer as Donald Trump concocts wild theories about election fraud has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

I am ashamed to admit this: Why don’t I feel badly that Rudy Giuliani has become infected? I suppose at one level I don’t want him to get deathly ill and suffer in agony. However, the man who stood tall in the wake of 9/11 as mayor of New York has devolved into a cartoon character, a buffoon, a Bozo the Clown as he mounts ridiculous arguments that seek to persuade us that voter fraud propelled Joe Biden to the presidency over Donald Trump.

The clown show goes on. Only 40-something days to go.

medical news

Fauci threatened for telling us the truth … amazing!

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Anthony Fauci might possess the strongest resolve of anyone in the United States of America.

Time magazine has declared Dr. Fauci to be one of its People of the Year for 2020. Do ya think?

The Hill newspaper reported: “I mean I’ve been doing this for 36 years as director of the (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases).” I’ve seen disagreements. I’ve seen political issues get in the way over the 36 years, but I’ve never seen the extent of the divisiveness which leads to hostility against public health measures,” he continued.

Fauci revealed earlier this year that he and his family, including his daughters, have received harassment over complaints about his public health recommendations during the pandemic, including wearing face masks or coverings. 

Let’s just ponder this for a brief moment.

Donald Trump brings an esteemed infectious disease expert aboard to help run a coronavirus response effort. Then he dismisses the expert’s advice, his wisdom and his call for caution. The dismissal brings out the lunatics among us who do things such as what Fauci has described. His daughters are harassed? Their lives are threatened? Is this for real?

And yet the good doctor continues to deliver the news we need to hear, eschewing the tendency to tell us what we — and Donald Trump — want to hear.

Does he deserve the recognition that Time is bestowing? Absolutely!

We do not yet know who will receive the coveted Person of the Year honor from Time. My own sense is that it should go to those on the front line of this fight against COVID-19: nurses, doctors, police officers, firefighters and educators.

Somewhere in all of that we can find a spot to insert Dr. Anthony Fauci’s name for him to receive the high honor and respect he has earned, not just for this fight but for all he has done to educate us about the danger of infectious disease.

medical news

Vaccine, yes; anti-COVID measures, also yes!

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I feel as though I am lecturing a child who likely knows what he or she is about to hear. Here goes nonetheless.

Vaccines that could eradicate the COVID-19 virus that has killed 270,000 Americans and sickened millions more are on the horizon. Does that mean we should relax? Do we now just forget about all the warnings we’ve been hearing and hopefully heeding for the past nine or 10 months?

Not just no, but hell no!

Pfizer and Moderna, two “big pharma” firms that are developing vaccines, are seeking Food and Drug Administration fast-track approval to begin distributing the vaccines; AstraZenena, a third firm that is developing a vaccine, likely is set to make the same request of the FDA.

I am hopeful and optimistic about the vaccines. Just so you know, I intend to be vaccinated as soon as it is available to me. I also know that I — along with my wife — likely will have to wait while others who need it more urgently get vaccinated.

We have been diligent in our house to protect ourselves against the virus. We mask up when we venture outside our house.  We maintain our distance from others. We use generous amounts of hand sanitizer. We wash our hands frequently … in our own home!

I intend fully to continue doing all of that even after I receive my vaccine.

The Dallas Morning News editorialized about all of this the other day, calling on us to refuse to let our guard down. We must not relax even with vaccines on the horizon.

We all know what’s happening out there. Infection, hospitalizations and deaths are up. Too many of us are ignoring the warnings. I heard Dr. Anthony Fauci, the premier infectious disease guru in the nation if not the world say that he has no problem with people accusing him of “overreacting” to the pandemic.

Indeed, it is far better to “overreact” and stay clear of the killer virus than to do the opposite.

I, too, plan to overreact.

national news

Do as he says, not as he does

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Not good, Mr. Mayor.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock made an impassioned plea to his constituents: Stay home over the Thanksgiving holiday to avoid spreading the COVID virus that’s still killing Americans.

Good advice? Sure it is.

What, then, did Hizzoner do? He boarded an airplane to fly to Mississippi to visit with family members.

Ouch, Mr. Mayor. C’mon, man. If you’re going to tell your constituents to do something that could save their lives, you need to set the example for others to follow.

He apologized to Denver’s residents. Hey, I am not one of them, but I accept his apology. Just do better from now on … OK?

 

medical news

COVID ain’t about politics, man!

2 Comments

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

America passed another grim and tragic milestone, recording more than 2,000 deaths in a single day from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hmm. And still the issues of mask-wearing, social distancing, hand washing, precautions to avoid being infected by the killer virus continue to be the source of political disputes.

Republicans/conservatives don’t like being told to do those things; Democrats/progressives seem to be more willing to heed the warnings from the medical experts.

Who’s right? Who’s wrong?

I don’t give a sh**! I remain baffled in the extreme that this issue has devolved into a political spitting match.

Yes, I have concluded that one side is mistaken by ignoring the advice. I side with those who preach extreme caution. They are the folks who, for the most part, remain in relatively good health.

These vaccines are on the way, or so we are being told. I am a patient man. I am willing to wait my turn to get vaccinated. Until then, I am going to gnash my teeth at the continuing political debate over a virus that is no respecter of ideology. It kills indiscriminately.

local news

Welcome to Season of Stress

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

No one calls it this, but we are on the cusp of entering the Season of Stress in the United States of America.

Let me be crystal clear about this point. I vowed long ago to avoid getting sucked into the stress associated with the Thanksgiving-Christmas time of year. Think of the irony.

We celebrate Thanksgiving by, um, giving thanks for our plenty, for our loved ones, for our good health and all the things for which we should be giving thanks. Then many of us launch into the holiday buying season, scrambling at stores, plowing through the Internet for the deals of the century. Then we get bummed out when we cannot find the perfect gift to send to the special people in our lives.

It ain’t happening in our house. At least that’s my hope.

Now, what about the 2020 Season of Stress? We have this other thing hanging over us like a dark storm cloud.

It’s that pandemic. Right there we have a damn good reason to stress out.

Americans are dying daily. We set another “record” for deaths overnight. That record is likely to be broken, maybe today or tomorrow. Whenever.

The pandemic is inhibiting our gatherings. The nation’s health experts are warning us about the hazards of sitting on crowded airplanes or gathering around crowded dinner tables with extended family and friends. They tell us: Stay home; keep it quiet and simple; stay away from your loved ones; wear masks; practice appropriate distancing measures.

If that isn’t enough to cause stress in your life, I don’t know what will do it.

But … let us give thanks for this bit of potentially astonishing news: vaccines well might be on the way to a doctor or a pharmacy near you and me.

This is an extraordinary season in an equally extraordinary year. I will not shed a single tear as we say goodbye to 2020 in a few weeks. As for the stress, I am going to fight like the dickens to avoid it.

I am thankful.

national news

He no longer matters

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

The 2020 presidential election has affirmed what I have thought now for years.

It is that Donald John Trump’s lies no longer matter. He is soon to be gone from the scene. A new president, Joe Biden, will take over on Jan. 20.

Yes, it is clear that Trump remains president until Joe Biden takes the presidential oath. He will be vested with all the power of the office. I merely pray as we watch the clock tick away the final moments of his tenure that he doesn’t do anything foolish. I have no need to explain what such foolishness might entail; I am certain that you get my drift.

As for Trump’s lies, well, I quit listening to them long ago. I accept nothing he says. I do not believe anything that flies out of his lying mouth.

And so we are left with a lame-duck president who is doing nothing to curb the killer virus that is raging across the country; he does nothing to re-engage Congress on a stimulus package to help families stricken by the virus; he does not a single thing to advance our alliances abroad.

Instead, he will foment the phony lie about a rigged election, about “widespread voter fraud” and will continue to insist that he actually “won” the presidential when he actually lost it by the same Electoral College total he won in 2016. Oh, and remember when he called his victory over Hillary Clinton a “landslide”?

Donald Trump is history. For that I am grateful that democracy has worked its magic on a system that cried out for help.

The voters have delivered it.

medical news

We’re still talking about COVID, Mr. POTUS

(Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I feel the need to remind you, Mr. President, of something you said on Oct. 24, about two weeks before you got thumped in your re-election bid.

You said everyone talks about “COVID, COVID, COVID,” and that by Nov. 4, “no one will be talking about” the disease that continues to infect and kill Americans.

OK, Mr. President. It’s now Nov. 13 and we’re still talking about COVID. Why? Because your administration’s shameful inaction on combating the killer virus has resulted in yet another ghastly and deadly spike in infection and death.

Haven’t you read the papers, Mr. President? We’re breaking records every day! For God’s sake, dude, the infection you kept telling us is “under control” is anything but under control. It is stampeding through our population like a herd of bison.

Does it fail to register with you, Mr. President, that your staff has been infected? Or that members of your Secret Service detail have come down with the disease? Or that you, your wife and your youngest son all were infected by the disease?

We’re still talking about the disease, Mr. POTUS! We’re going to keep talking about the disease for far longer than any of us want to talk about it.

This ain’t a hoax, Mr. President. It’s real. It is deadly … and you, sir, are responsible for continuing misery.