You might think you don’t know what a cheese doodle is, but you have almost certainly seen them around. A cheese doodle is a rather colloquial way of calling those baked cheesy snacks that are sure to leave your fingers bright orange.

Sold as crisps, for a bit of cheesiness to your lunch you can’t go far wrong than picking up a packet of these tasty morsels. Just try not to eat too many!

All great foods deserve a day of observance – so of course, this classic and popular snack has March 5th to celebrate it in all its cheesy, savory goodness.

Read more here. . . .

TOP PODCAST DONE WEEKLY

BY DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM

(UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA)  

He is a world-renowned epidemiologist who was credited with first elucidating TOXIC SHOCK SYNDROME in the 1980’s.

He provides comprehensive and understandable/actionable ideas related to COVID.

Dr. Osterholm Update: COVID-19

February 23, 2023

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/episode-125-masks-memories-middle-ground

(Same podcast as last week's.... New One next!)



"Masks, Memories, & Middle Ground"

In "Masks, Memories, & Middle Ground," Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss the state of the pandemic in the US and around the world, the newly released CIDRAP Coronavirus Vaccine R&D Roadmap, and the rise of vaccine misinformation and disinformation.

According to Dr. Osterholm……

• 5 VACCINATIONS IS THE MAXIMUM AT THIS TIME.  I ANTICIPATE THEY WILL RECOMMEND EITHER ONCE A YEAR OR TWICE A YEAR VACCINATIONS BUT WE ARE WAITING TO HEAR.
• GOOD VENTILATION IN ROOMS/HOME/BUSINESSES IS A GREAT WAY TO PREVENT TRANSMISSION
• VACCINE, VACCINE, VACCINE…THIS IS OUR PROTECTION.  ALL VACCINES ARE EFFECTIVE AND WITH TIME WE ARE SEEING THAT THE J&J VACCINE IS PICKING UP STEAM AND GIVES SOLID LONG-TERM PROTECTION.
• BOOST, BOOST, BOOST…THIS WILL BE NECESSARY TO PREVENT RECURRING SURGE AND TO RAISE ANTIBODY LEVELS IN THOSE ALREADY SET WITH THE PRIMARY COVID VACCINE SERIES.
• ANTIGEN TESTING IS USEFUL, BUT OF LIMITED VALUE. DON’T DEPEND ON THIS TEST IF YOU HAVE CLASSIC COVID SYMPTOMS.
• MASKS OF THE KN95 AND N95 VARIETY CAN BE HELPFUL. CLOTH MASKS AND SURGICAL MASKS ARE CURRENTLY NOT AS EFFECTIVE WITH DELTA VARIANT 
• THE THREE/FOUR/FIVE VACCINE REGIMEN IS PARTICULARLY EFFECTIVE AGAINST SERIOUS ILLNESS AND HOSPITALIZATION. DEATHS AMONG THE VACCINATED ARE MASSIVELY REDUCED.
• GET YOUR BOOSTERS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

Know that unvaccinated remain a source of potential infection.  Avoiding unvaccinated persons will reduce your risk of COVID.

“We want to know what led to this, so we can hopefully try and prevent something similar from happening in the future.”

Those words, from Dr. David Relman, an infectious disease expert and microbiologist at Stanford University, reflected the national conversation around the origins of Covid-19 in 2021.

Did it come from a lab? Was it a zoonotic transfer? Something else? Surely, with time, an answer would become clear.

But now, three years removed from the start of a pandemic that is still disrupting daily life, an assessment from the US Energy Department is only adding to the confusion about what really happened in Wuhan, China, in late 2019.

Read more here. . . .

After you received your COVID vaccinations, please let us know!

We would like to document this information into your chart.



BUT FIRST.......

PLEASE COMPLETE THE INFORMATION ON THE CARD BEFORE YOU SEND IT TO US!

What we need:

1. Your name
2. Date vaccination received
3. Brand name
4. Lot number if available
5. Which dose you have received

**Email your COVID vaccine completed info HERE

Covid-19 vaccines are known to be safe and effective, and they’re available for free, but many Americans in the US refuse to get them – and a recent study suggests that celebrities may share some of the blame for people’s mistrust.

Celebrities have long tried to positively influence public health, studies show, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, they also seemed to have a large influence on spreading misinformation.

Decades ago, in the 1950s, people could see stars like Elvis Presley, Dick Van Dyke and Ella Fitzgerald in TV ads that encouraged polio vaccination. This celebrity influence boosted the country’s general vaccination efforts, and vaccination nearly eliminated the deadly disease.

In 2021, US officials used celebrities in TV ads to encourage more people to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Big names like lifestyle guru Martha Stewart, singer Charlie Puth and even Senate Minority Leader Mitchell McConnell showed up in spots that had billions of ad impressions.

The world isn’t restricted to only three TV networks any more, so celebrities like actress Hilary Duff, actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, singer Dolly Parton and even Big Bird also used their enormous presence on Instagram and Twitter to promote a pro Covid-19 vaccine message.

But social media also became a vehicle for celebrities to cast doubt about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine and even to spread disinformation about Covid.

Read more here. . . .

At our office, we are continuing to follow CDC guidelines and will strive for ways to keep our patients and staff safe.



We recommend that all unvaccinated and vaccinated patients and visitors entering our office cover their nose and mouth at all times.

To prevent further spread of the Delta & Omicron variants, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its mask guidance on March 21, 2022, to recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks when in areas with “substantial” and “high” transmission of Covid-19.

We have a limited supply of paper masks and will make these available to patients while they last, however, we encourage you to bring your own facial covering.

An experimental nasal vaccine provided strong protection against Covid infection, according to preliminary results from a Phase 1 clinical trial.

The vaccine, developed by a startup called Blue Lake Biotechnology Inc., was found to reduce the risk of symptomatic Covid infections by 86% for three months in people who received it as a booster dose. Existing booster shots in the United States reduce symptomatic infections by 43% in people 18 to 49 over one to two months, according to a study published in November by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The results from the clinical trial offer an early but tantalizing glimpse at how a next-generation Covid vaccine could be more effective at stopping the coronavirus in its tracks.

Scientists have said nasal vaccines could provide better protection against Covid compared to those that are injected into the arm.

Read more here. . . .

How they make Wise Cheez Puff Doodles. . . .