By Sherman Frederick/Properly Subversive
By the time you read this, an updated COVID-19 booster shot will be on the market and unlike previous boosters this one will target the latest strains of the virus.
I admit that I’m generally irritated with the federal government’s performance on the pandemic. Remember last Thanksgiving when the powers-that-be tried to tell us how to arrange the dinner tables to celebrate the national holiday? It was a ridiculous effort.
Even today, When I see those vestigates of stupidity (plastic shields at bank teller windows and social distancing spots on the floor) I think to myself, “what a joke.”
All that said, I’m going to get a booster shot this fall, just as I do for the flu. Why?
Well, first off, I’ve been vaccinated for COVID-19 and so far it has worked. No COVID. I’ve also not grown a tail or experienced any other fearsome side effects.
Secondly, I had open heart surgery about a dozen years ago, so if I got COVID I’d be a candidate for complications leading to hospitalization. Since I make it a rule to avoid hospitals, this seems like a reasonable precaution.
And finally, I’m a polio-era kid. I can remember standing in line at the school gym to receive a vaccine-infused sugar cube as my parents rejoiced at the medical breakthrough. So, forgive me if government guidance still means something to me. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf tweeted last week: “When available, new boosters are expected to help provide greater protection against the currently circulating strains. We encourage all who are eligible to consider a booster.”
Look, I’m not here to tell you what to do. I’m only telling you what I’m going to do, which is in a few weeks I am going to trundle down to my doctor’s office and ask him about the booster.
If he says get it, I will.
(As a sidebar to this, my doctor has not been in lockstep with the CDC. For example, when masks became optional, he told patients they didn’t need to wear those janke homemade masks in his office. Why? Because, he said, they are not effective.)
SPRITZ UP THE NOSE?
This bit of COVID-19 news comes from the National Geographic magazine: The current batch of COVID-19 vaccines effectively prevents severe disease and death and offers substantial protection against the variants. But the authorized vaccines are not 100 percent effective at blocking all infections. To address this deficit, scientists are exploring new ways of delivering vaccines that yield stronger and more durable immunity against SARS-CoV-2. One promising approach might be to trade a jab in the arm for a spritz up the nose.
THE RACES BEGIN
Labor Day means the competitive political races in Nevada will heat up and the campaigns with money will provide us with a firehose stream of information. I use the word “information” loosely.
For voters looking for better ways to examine the candidates for governor, may I point you to a forum on Oct. 2 sponsored by The Nevada Independent.
Incumbent Democrat Steve Sisolak and Republican Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo will take questions in a forum format. It will be streamed. Tune into the Indy’s website for details: thenevadaindependent.com.
So far there’s nothing like that scheduled for the other big race in Nevada. The candidates for the U.S. Senate – incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto and former Republican Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt – have yet to agree to anything. Many are trying to put something together.
It would be a damn shame if there were no debate in this race. If something develops, I’ll pass it along.
GOODBYE, HARRY
The news of the passing of Harry Spencer reached me last week. Those of you in Sparks will know him as a weekly columnist for the Tribune.
He was also a longtime Nevadan who in his 95 years involved himself in just about everything you can think of that bettered the state. We
In 1944 he received a basketball scholarship from the University of Nevada (Coach Jim Aiken), but was drafted into the Army a semester later. He returned to Nevada in mid-century and began a long career in advertising and writing.
Nevada will miss you, Harry.
See you down the road, brother.
WHAT I’M WATCHING
Amazon is streaming “Thirteen Lives.” You’ll know the story because it made big world news at the time. It’s the true story of 12 boys on a Thai soccer team and their coach who explore the Tham Luang cave when an unexpected rainstorm traps them in a chamber inside the mountain. A team of world-class divers navigate through miles of dangerous cave networks to discover that finding the boys is only the beginning.
ONE MORE THING
– A penny saved is a penny earned, to coin a phrase.
– A set of jumper cables walks into a bar and asks: “Can I have a beer?” The bartender says, “OK, but don’t start anything.”
– Why does a duck have tail feathers? To cover his butt quack.
– While reading the dictionary in bed last night, I got up to P.
Thanks for reading. We appreciate it. Until next week, avoid soreheads, laugh a little and always question authority.
“Properly Subversive” is commentary written by Sherman R. Frederick, a Nevada Hall of Fame journalist and co-founder of Battle Born Media, a news organization dedicated to the preservation of community newspapers. Mr. Frederick loves feedback. You can reach him by email at shermfrederick@gmail.com