A year of pandemic has meant a long (loooong) period of self-reflection for most of us. Have you experienced any deep realizations? Had an epiphany or two?
 
If this past year has taught me anything about myself, it’s that I live to consolidate and pass along information, which shouldn’t have taken me by surprise because it represents what pediatricians do: we assess an issue, comb the recesses of our minds for knowledge, cobble that old knowledge together with new research, and present it in a nutshell… albeit sometimes a tough nut(shell) to crack. We are information integrators who happen to enjoy the company of kids.
 
While the focus of this newsletter has been integrating information about COVID, the vast majority of my time is actually spent immersed in puberty. Thankfully not my own – been there, done that. But my work is fueled by the fundamental question of why every generation should be forced to reinvent that clunky wheel. And so today, I am shifting the focus of the newsletter opening away from pandemic to share The PUBERTY PORTAL, a treasure trove of articles, checklists and quizzes launched over the past few days on the OOMLA site. The PORTAL is designed – like everything else at OOMLA – to make puberty more comfortable. I built it hand-in-hand with puberty educator extraordinaire Vanessa Bennett and a team of incredible young women just out the back end of the process (Peggy! Isabella! Lina!). We’re all deep believers that it’s high time for the internet to make puberty information available to the very people living it. So now, when a tween or teen wants information about irregular periods or hormone-induced mood swings or zits, there exists reliable but relatable content designed for them, not for their parents and definitely not for some lawyer. The first couple of dozen articles are up, and new ones are being posted all the time. I hope you’ll check it out and pass it along. Perhaps something on there may even spark an epiphany.
 
One other recent epiphany: everyone appreciates a short email. So now onto the COVID links, because that information deserves a hub, too:
 
  • School may be closer to reopening, thanks to a statement by the CDC strongly endorsing the idea. Or is it? The week-old announcement has fueled fires in the form of lawsuits across the country, pitting cities against school boards, school boards against states, parents against teachers, mayors and governors against teacher’s unions, and athletes against state agencies. A few recent examples can be found in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Michigan, and Virginia.
 
 
  • Are millennials to blame for the majority of the coronavirus spread? Apparently so… but it doesn’t mean they should move to the front of the vaccine line.
 
  • Speaking of vaccine lines, distribution continues to be a mess (though it’s getting a little bit better… maybe?) and the Ralphs saga continues. Los Angeles shifted from epicenter of disease to epicenter of poor vaccine rollout logistics. For locals, here’s an article explaining how the heck to sign up for dose #2; for non-locals, read the same article to bear witness to the mayhem.
 
  • One positive vaccine note: the early data on the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine is looking good. So good, in fact, that some people think this vaccine doesn’t just reduce the severity of COVID, it actually reduces virus transmission (but very notably, some don’t). As a reminder, this was the vaccine that made headlines in the fall because accidental half-doses were given, and the protection after receiving half a dose looked to be better than a full dose.
 
 
 
 
Meme today – squirrels! Ridiculously cute meets what is happening here?! How could you not want to see more? Click here ☺