Tag Archives: COVID vaccine

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Wait for pandemic to ease

I want to offer a bit of unsolicited — and possibly unwanted — advice to those who worry about President Joe Biden’s dismal poll ratings.

Just be patient and wait for the coronavirus pandemic to loosen its grip on the national psyche.

I don’t have any solid evidence of this, but my strong hunch is that Americans have grown most weary of the constant bombardment of news about the pandemic and they — meaning we, in our family — are waiting anxiously for tangible relief from the effects of the disease.

The constant flood of frightening news surely has an impact on our collective state of mind and our emotional stability. It surely must translate to our feelings about how our national government is doing in its pledge to protect our health, welfare and our pursuit of happiness.

President Biden promised we would declare our “independence” from the virus by the Fourth of July 2021. It didn’t happen. Obviously! Many Americans remember what the president said then and are holding it against him that he was unable to deliver on that pledge. It’s not fair. It’s just the way it is.

Our government’s initial response in early 2020 was horrendous. If we take cold, hard look at what we did or didn’t do then, we can presume correctly that President Biden inherited a mess and has sought to straighten it out. He hasn’t done nearly as well as many of us hoped he would.

Now he is paying the political price.

So, the future could hold a critical key to Joe Biden’s political survival. If the pandemic starts to recede — and soon! — then I have good reason to believe we could witness a historic revival in the president’s standing among American voters.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

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Get the vaccine, Novak!

Novak Djokovic has to suck it up and get the shot that will prevent him from the embarrassment he has just suffered at the hands of the Australian government.

The Aussies kicked the world’s No. 1 tennis player out of the country because he refused to follow the nation’s strict protocols it has employed to defend itself against the killer coronavirus.

Djokovic is seeking to win his 21st major tennis title. He has won the Australian Open nine times and thought — I am going to presume — that he should win his 10th and then proclaim himself to be the greatest of all time.

Except that Australia invoked a no-vaccine no-entry policy for anyone. That means, well … anyone! That includes you, Novak! He won’t compete this year or perhaps for the next three years under the Australians’ deportation policy.

I don’t wish him ill. I want him to get vaccinated. I am assuming he has some reason for refusing to be inoculated against the disease. Whatever it is, he perhaps ought to set those reasons aside if he wants to continue his Grand Slam quest.

France has a similar policy to Australia; so does the United Kingdom; and the United States restricts entry of all foreign nationals who aren’t vaccinated. All those countries host the other three major championships.

Get on board, Novak. Or else your wait for making history might fall victim to Father Time.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Dr. Oz for Senate? Ugh!

Mehmet Oz wants to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania in 2022, which by itself shouldn’t cause any great shakes for little ol’ me out here in North Texas.

Except that it kinda does. I now shall explain.

Oz is a medical doctor. He made a name for himself by becoming a TV personality. His face is everywhere. I cannot testify to the quality of his medical practice; for that matter, I don’t know if he even still has a practice where he examines patients and does doctor-related tasks.

He is running as a Republican. He also is a known skeptic of the COVID-19 virus’s seriousness. He also has been critical of the vaccines that have been released to vaccinate Americans against the virus. That qualifies Oz, in my view, as a certified member of the crackpot cabal of the GOP.

There’s one more thing I want to point out. I believe he borders on medical quackery. Why?

Well, some years ago I heard him shilling for a product that was supposed to cure people of some ailment. Then he dropped the word “miracle” in his description of the product. He said that the results were a “miracle,” meaning that there is no Earthly explanation for why it does what it does.

I am no doctor, but no doctor I ever have heard has used the word “miracle” to describe a scientific procedure. By its very nature, science is predicated on knowledge of cause and effect.

Thus, for a medical doctor to use a term such as “miracle” to describe a medicinal product to my mind smacks of someone who is peddling some version of snake oil.

This clown doesn’t belong in the U.S. Senate.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

medical news

What’s in that aspirin tablet?

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I want to pose a question to those who are reluctant to take a COVID vaccine because they “don’t know what’s in it.”

Do you know what your run-of-the-mill aspirin tablet contains when you swallow it to cure a headache? Or what about any prescription ordered by your doctor? Do you know what it contains?

We keep hearing from the anti-vaxxer crowd that they are uncertain about the contents of the vaccine. They express a sort of faux fear of an issue that really does not exist.

Can you say “canard”? This is what is at play here.

The anti-vaccine cabal has concocted a phony issue to help spread the disinformation that has plagued the distribution of the various vaccines that are getting approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. The CDC and the FDA are subjecting these vaccines through rigorous testing to ensure their safety. I happen to have faith in the medical pros who run these agencies and believe they are faithful to the oath they take to “first, do no harm.” 

I have to admit I have members of my extended family who are declining to vaccinate themselves or their children. They actually say out loud and without a hint of embarrassment they are doing so because of politics. Amazing, yes!

Yet they also are fabricating the notion that they are concerned about the vaccine’s contents. And yet … they’ll shell out good money for an over-the-counter medical dose not giving a moment of thought as to its contents.

It is as phony an argument as those who proclaim they oppose “dictatorial mandates,” yet they buckle up in their car because the government orders them to do so.

Incredible.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

medical news

Ignore the know-nothings

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By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

While visiting with a family member this afternoon, chatting about this and that, I made a command decision about how I will treat the yammering that comes from the anti-vaxxers out there who say we should ignore pleas to inoculate ourselves against the COVID-19 pandemic.

I will ignore them.

When Fox News blowhard Tucker Carlson says we should forgo the vaccine, I will ignore him. When such nonsense spills from the pie holes of politicians wedded to the nonsense spouted by POTUS 45, I will ignore them, too.

FYI, my family member happens to be on my side in this argument.

Now, that said … if a learned physician with the skill and knowledge credentials of, say, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says we should refuse the vaccine, I’ll give it all due consideration. Then I’ll disregard what he or she says, too.

The blowhards are know-nothing gasbags. They make handsome livings by being able to articulate half-baked opinions in a witty, reasonably articulate manner. They have their followers. I am not one of them. Thus, I do not take their blathering seriously; hell, I usually choose to avoid listening to it in the first place.

I established long ago my own bias. We all have it. You do, too. I am going to accept the opinions of those I trust. Dr. Fauci — the nation’s premier infectious disease expert — says the vaccines are safe and effective. That, dear friends, is good enough for me.

As for those who refuse to get vaccinated, or refuse to inoculate their children against the killer virus and its variant(s), they are putting themselves in dire peril. Worse, they are endangering their children.

All of them — every single one of them — should be ashamed.

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Vaccine reaction? It’s a non-starter

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I have zero patience when I hear that my fellow Americans don’t want to get a COVID-19 vaccine shot because of some “reaction” they might suffer as a result.

Reaction? What reaction? Will you feel dreary and droopy? Achy? Might you spike a fever?

It’s only temporary, folks!

I realize I am just one individual, that my experience with vaccines doesn’t apply necessarily to anyone else, let alone to millions of other Americans.

The worst reaction I ever had to any sort of vaccine occurred in the fall of 1989. I was preparing to travel to Southeast Asia with other editorial writers and editors. I needed a flu shot before departing for the Far East.

Our family doctor who administered the vaccine at his Beaumont, Texas, clinic told me there would be side effects. They were? Oh, he said I would feel like I had the flu.

No sweat, doc. Gimme the shot! He did.

The next day or two I got hit hard. My temperature spiked. I got achy all over. I became sick to my stomach. Then after three days or so, it ended. I was shipshape, ready to travel.

I understand there are safety concerns about the vaccines out there. I also hear the doctors tell us that they’re safe. They are dependable. Their efficacy is excellent.

The president of the United States is imploring us to get vaccinated. Listen to the man!

national news

Did he say that? Really?

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Complete candor requires us to realize that we didn’t think a U.S. senator was a certifiable nut job when he took office.

Still, Republican Ron Johnson of Wisconsin has provided ample evidence that he might need to be committed.

Johnson has been a COVID denier since the pandemic broke out. Now he says that there is “no reason” for Americans to get vaccinated if their neighbors have the vaccine. He is actually seeking to dissuade us from getting vaccinated against a virus has has killed just a bit south of 600,000 Americans.

Yes, the death rate is declining. The infection rate in many states, though, is spiking. Vaccines are rolling out. Three drug companies have produced enough vaccine to inoculate tens of millions of Americans.

Ron Johnson wonders, “Why the push for vaccine?”

Republican Ron Johnson tries to explain why there is “no reason to be pushing vaccines on people” (msn.com)

I think I can explain. We want the vaccine injected into as many Americans as possible so we can protect ourselves –and them — from the virus. Holy cow, man! It ain’t complicated!

As the Business Insider reports: Last month, the congressman claimed that he doesn’t plan on getting vaccinated because he already contracted the disease, which he argued “probably provides me the best immunity possible.” According to the Centers for Disease Control, with regards to natural immunity, “experts don’t know for sure how long this protection lasts, and the risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 far outweighs any benefits of natural immunity. COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you by creating an antibody (immune system) response without having to experience sickness.”

This is the same guy who said the Jan. 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill took place even though most of the rioters are law-abiding citizens who have a deep respect for law enforcement. Uh, senator? I saw the video of that riot. There wasn’t a lot of abiding by the law taking place. He also believes the Big Lie about phony voter fraud.

Now he is popping off about vaccines.

Hmm. Shut up, Sen. Johnson.

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I love being a statistic

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

OK, I am just a number, but I welcome it.

I happen to be one of the 15 million or so Americans who’s been completely vaccinated against the COVID-19 pandemic. My bride will join me in that category of Americans in just one week.

What I want to report is that today’s second dose of the vaccine was done with a fraction of the anxiety of the first one. How is that? No lines, man!

We drove again from Princeton, Texas south along U.S. Highway 75, through Dallas and ended up once again at the North Texas VA Medical Center. We parked our truck and walked in.

I peered down the hall, looking for a line of veterans waiting to get vaccinated. There were none there! Huh? The nasty weather might have kept some folks from making the trip to the VA center. A VA staffer told me the morning crowd was much larger. Whatever. I guess I am the master of impeccable timing.

I checked in and then was ushered immediately into the large room with 20-something booths where vets were receiving their vaccines.

The nurse peppered with a few questions about my health at the moment. I answered them correctly, I got the shot in the arm, walked into a waiting room for the obligatory 15-minute post-vaccine observation period and then walked out. My wife and piled into our truck and returned home.

In and out in, oh, 22 minutes!

Wow! I will sing the praises once more for the service I receive from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA came through for me when I needed it. I expect the same kind of treatment for my bride when she reports for her second vaccine provided by Collin County’s Health Department.

local news, medical news

Plano … you had a problem

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

We were alarmed Thursday night when we heard the news about a COVID vaccine site that had run into some, um, difficulty.

My wife was scheduled to report at that very site at John Clark Stadium in Plano, Texas, the next day to receive the first of two COVID vaccine doses. We held our breath this morning as we set out for her rendezvous with immunity from the killer pandemic virus.

We arrived 25 minutes after leaving our house in Princeton.

Then something quite cool happened. We drove Big Jake, our 3/4-ton pickup, into line. We inched forward. We met with a young attendant who took down some information from my bride.

We then drove to another line. We waited a few more minutes. Then we met a second COVID vaccine staffer, who took some more info from her.

Then came the final stop. My wife chatted for a moment with the third attendant, answered a few medical questions.

Then she got the shot. Ba-da-boom … she was done.

I checked the clock. Finished in less than an hour.

News reports the previous evening told us about overbooking at that site because of no-shows and cancellations. We heard about agonizing waits in line, with residents told there were no vaccine doses left; they were turned away.

We didn’t have any particular expectation of similar problems today, only a nagging fear that they might present themselves to my wife.

They did not. What’s more, and this is a rather amazing thing to report, the staff working on the parking lot at Clark Stadium could not have been more courteous, friendly and professional. The personal demeanor actually made the experience almost enjoyable.

She got the Pfizer vaccine, which means she returns in three weeks for the second dose. Now that we know what to expect, there will be far less dread waiting for the end of this vaccine protocol.

I just want to offer a word of thanks and appreciation to some folks who are under a lot of pressure to serve an anxious community.

local news, medical news

COVID test didn’t hurt a bit

By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

My name is John and I am a statistic.

So is my wife of more than 49 years. No, we’re not that statistic. We are now among the millions of Americans who have been tested for the coronavirus that is infecting millions of our countrymen and women and, tragically, killing far too many of them.

We ventured this morning to a clinic in nearby McKinney. We walked in without an appointment. We were advised it might take a while to see a medical pro. It turned out to be not quite as lengthy a wait as it could have been.

I need to stipulate that we’ll know the results of our tests in three days or so. The clinic staff will call us with the … news, which we both certainly hope is good news.

We decided to seek the test because we both have a case of the heebie-jeebies, given what we hear about the multitude of symptoms that others have experienced — before they tested positive for the virus.

Both of us have been mindful of the measures we need to take to stave off infection. We have practiced them carefully: masks, social distancing, hand-washing; you name it, we do it!

Next up for my bride and me? The vaccine, that’s what!

We hear that we well could be on the very next list of those who qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine. We’re both of age. We don’t suffer pre-existing conditions that would push us to the head of that line, but we do qualify simply because our dates of birth say we do; and we can prove we qualify on the basis of age.

I am heartened to see high-profile Americans — VP Mike Pence and Karen Pence, President-elect Biden and Jill Biden, VP-elect Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff, Dr. Anthony Fauci to name just a few — make a show of getting inoculated against the virus. It’s not that I need their endorsement to obtain the vaccine. As soon as it’s available to us, we’re going to get the shot immediately if not sooner.

We’ve taken the next logical step, which is to get a test to see if our good behavior has paid dividends for us. I remain optimistic that neither of us will become that other statistic.