'National Mashed Potato Day'

National Mashed Potato Day celebrates one of the most beloved comfort foods: creamy, buttery mashed potatoes, a dish that has warmed hearts and filled bellies for generations.

Mashed potatoes are a staple in many households, known for their versatility and ability to complement countless meals. Whether you prefer them smooth or chunky, with skins on or off, this day is a reminder of the simple joy that a perfect bowl of mashed potatoes can bring.

We Are Here to Take Care of Your Healthcare Needs.

We Are Here to Serve!

Our office is using techniques to reduce exposure to a minimum during your visit. These include: 

• Multiple Super-HEPA filters to filter out potential virus and

particles in the office.

• High Level UV light air cleansing in the office to eliminate

bacteria and viruses in the air.

OUR OFFICE SCHEDULE  

DOORS OPEN     

7AM - 4PM Monday through Thursday

7AM - 11AM Friday

IN OFFICE

APPOINTMENTS: MONDAY – THURSDAY

7AM – 11:15AM & 1PM – 3:30PM

APPOINTMENTS: FRIDAY

7AM – 10:30 AM

Dr. Lakin is also available for telehealth visits via FaceTime, WhatsApp, or Zoom when appropriate.

‘THE WEEKLY DOCTORDOUG REPORT’

October 18, 2026 

“The weekly newsletter continues and is all personally written by myself and produced by my staff. That said, when I worked for the summer in DC, long ago, my job was to provide an executive summary for the congressman on various topics.  Today...I'm letting AI provide that summary for you at the beginning of the newsletter, but the rest is as usual, handwritten.”

-  Dr. Lakin

This health update provides comprehensive guidance on viral respiratory infections, vaccination recommendations, illness management, and protective measures during travel, with a focus on COVID-19, measles, RSV, and flu.

•  Early Autumn viral infections remain low: FLU has arrived. COVID is around.  They are in moderate numbers.  Please get your shots now.  Doing both at the same time is efficient and shown to be safe and without increased side effects.

•  FLU SHOT:  Time to plan for your FLU SHOT. October through November are the best months, with October the sweet spot…but anytime mentioned is fine and later is OK too.  All FLU SHOTS are excellent. The new mRNA flu shot has been proven safe and effective and is a fine choice, or you can stick with the traditional flu shots that are developed specifically for this year. We will be having flu shot clinic during late September and October. Call if you are interested. We do not have COVID vaccine.

•  COVID-19 vaccination availability and advice: THE NEW COVID-19 vaccines are widely available at pharmacies; those 65 and older or with serious health conditions are strongly recommended to vaccinate, with dosing frequency varying by risk level. The NEW VERSION of the COVID VACCINE IS AVAILABLE.  

•  2026–2027 COVID vaccine targets new strain: XFG instead of last season's LP.8.1 — both are JN.1-lineage Omicron descendants, but XFG is the one now dominant in circulation, so the update is meant to better match currently spreading virus. 

FLU & VIRAL UPDATE

FLU VACCINE:  

The Flu shot:

The flu shot recommendations are the same as every year.  Shots are best taken starting now.... end of September through November.  It is OK if you take earlier or later, but the duration of the shot may not cover the entire flu season and taking late may miss the first part of the FLU SEASONS which traditionally begins around Thanksgiving-time, so time it as best you can based on your personal schedule.

mFLUSIVA: The Flu shot will be available as usual, the same versions as always, but there is a new version that is mRNA based, similar technology to the current COVID vaccination.  Large scale studies have proven this both safe and effective… 20% more effective. That said, this is the first year for the mRNA FLU shot. It is made by MODERNA and called: mFLUSIVA. This is

considered safe and is fine to take this season, but if you are the more conservative type, you should take the traditional FLU vaccine this year, awaiting full roll-out, and then perhaps take the new technology flu shot next year…but it is proven safe to take and if you prefer this is an excellent choice.

The FDA's advisory committee confirmed on March 12-13, 2026 that the 2026-2027 US flu vaccines will keep the trivalent (three-strain) format that's been standard since the 2025-2026 season, covering two Influenza A strains and one Influenza B strain — with no bivalent option offered. The three components are:

•  Influenza A(H1N1): A/Missouri/11/2025-like virus

•  Influenza A(H3N2): A/Darwin/1454/2025-like virus (egg-based) or A/Darwin/1415/2025-like virus (cell/recombinant-based) — a new subclade K strain

•  Influenza B: B/Tokyo/EIS13-175/2025-like virus (egg-based) or B/Pennsylvania/14/2025-like virus (cell/recombinant-based), both from the Victoria lineage

All three components got refreshed strains for this coming season, which is notable — it's the first time in recent years all three have changed simultaneously. 

COVID-19 VACCINATION

The NEW COVID-19 vaccine is widely available at Walgreens, CVS, and other pharmacies.  If you get the COVID vaccine… and a prescription is required, please contact our office and we will send that in for you.  THAT SAID, THE GOVERNOR SIGNED A LAW SAYING YOU DO NOT NEED A VACCINE PRESCRIPTION, SO YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO REGISTER AND OBTAIN IT WITHOUT A PRESCRIPTION FROM OUR OFFICE.

Our office does not carry the COVID vaccine at this time. If you would like to receive both the flu and COVID shots together, scheduling directly with your local pharmacy is a convenient option — and it is perfectly safe to get both at the same visit.

Key Facts About COVID Vaccination



•  The COVID vaccine is strongly recommended for adults 65 and older, and for anyone with serious underlying health conditions.

•  In the 65+ age group, the vaccine has been proven to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death.

•  COVID continues to rank among the top 3 or 4 causes of death in Americans over 65.

•  The annual risk of contracting COVID is estimated at 10–30%.

•  The risk of serious complications from the vaccine is approximately 1 in 100,000 — roughly the same odds as dying in a single skydiving jump. By comparison, the risk of serious illness or death from COVID in those over 65 is 50 per 100,000 or higher.

•  Cash price for the COVID vaccine ranges from $140 to $200. This should not be a barrier for those who are high-risk, but I want you to have the full picture.

About the 2025–2026 COVID Vaccine Formulation

XFG instead of last season's LP.8.1 — both are JN.1-lineage Omicron descendants, but XFG is the one now dominant in circulation, so the update is meant to better match currently spreading virus.

Available options include mRNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech.

Dosing Recommendations

•  Adults 65 and older (healthy): one dose per year is recommended.

•  Adults 65 and older with significant health conditions (diabetes, COPD, heart failure, kidney disease, immune compromise): every six months is appropriate — and at minimum, once a year.

•  Adults over 80: every six months is the preferred interval.

•  Immunocompromised individuals should consult with me directly for personalized guidance.

If you fall into any of these higher-risk groups, please stay current with your COVID vaccinations. The protection they offer against hospitalization is real and well-documented.

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 and other infectious diseases.

The Osterholm Update

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

October 8, 2026

'CDC Cuts: Understaffed and Overwhelmed'

Since January 2025, the CDC has lost nearly a third of its staff under the leadership of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This drastic reduction in staffing has limited the CDC’s ability to respond to the spread of measles and this summer's foodborne illness outbreaks.

In today’s episode, hosts Chris Dall and Dr. Michael Osterholm discuss what’s going on at the CDC and how it's impacting the agency's ability to respond to infectious diseases. They’'ll also provide an update on the measles outbreak in Pennsylvania, examine the rise of dengue virus cases in Florida, tell you what we know about a mysterious death in a Russian plague research lab and look at the latest data on COVID and other respiratory viruses– and what that means for the timing of flu shots.

Plus, the latest installment of This Week in Public Health History.



Measles is sometimes dismissed as an unserious disease or ‘just a rash.’ But the highly contagious virus can cause serious illness not just during initial infection but years later, after patients appear to have made a full recovery. 

This delayed complication, a rare, almost invariably fatal brain disease known as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), is highlighted in a new report published yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

For the report, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at 20 children from the Philippines, where measles outbreaks occurred in 2010–11, 2013, and 2018-19. The most recent outbreak was the largest in the World Health Organization Western Pacific Region. All children in the report were admitted to the pediatric hospital in Quezon City from 2007 through 2022. 

Larger wave of SSPE may be on horizon

All four children with estimated measles infection dates corresponding to the 2018-19 outbreak were hospitalized between 2020 and 2022, two to three years after their initial infections. Because SSPE is latent for years after initial infection, those cases “most likely represent the leading edge of a postoutbreak wave,” notes the report, and “additional cases might emerge over the coming years.”

Ten of the 19 children in the study with an estimable infection age contracted measles before they were old enough for routine vaccination at nine months (when the Philippines schedules its first routine dose). The median age at hospital admission for SSPE was 6.2 years. 

Measles continues to rip through unvaccinated communities across the United States.

The virus has sickened at least 4,410 people this year, according to a report today from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The total number of measles cases grew by 8%, or 330 cases, in just the past seven days. That’s more than the total number of measles cases in all of 2024, when the CDC confirmed 285 cases. 

There have been 42 new measles outbreaks across the country this year. Of the confirmed cases, 96% have been in people who are unvaccinated or have unknown vaccination status.

The true number of measles cases is likely to be substantially larger, according to public health experts. Pennsylvania has reported six measles deaths, a much higher number than experts would predict based on the 1,260 cases in that state. 

That’s because the expected mortality rate from measles ranges from one to three deaths per 1,000 infections. Based on those historic rates, infectious disease specialists say the true number of measles infections in Pennsylvania could be 6,000 or more. 

A third person in Kenya has tested positive for Ebola, health ministry officials announced, according to Africa News. The 65-year-old woman—a close relative of the first two Ebola cases in the country—started quarantining prior to developing symptoms. 

Yesterday, health officials reported that two cases of Ebola has been detected in an eighth province, North Ubangi. According to Reuters, the DRC has yet to officially announce the infections. 

Ituri province has seen the most Ebola cases, with North Kivu province recently experiencing a spike in cases. South Kivu, Tshopo, Haut-Uele, Bas-Uele, and South Ubangi provinces have also reported Ebola cases during this outbreak. So far, the virus has sickened 9,235 people and led to 4,444 deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been in school for only a little more than a month, yet 10 students have already died of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, per Africa News. 

Twenty-five Ebola cases have been confirmed in schoolchildren in Ituri, with seven survivors still undergoing treatment. Early this month, the humanitarian group Save the Children said that about seven children have died of Ebola every day—for a total of 961 children—since the outbreak was detected in May. 

The pertussis vaccine works really well, according to a new study comparing kids in Alaska who had gotten three or more doses of the vaccine with children who were unvaccinated, or undervaccinated.

The diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine is a routine childhood combination immunization that's given in a five-dose series, starting at two months of age, with the last dose between the ages of four and six years.

A paper yesterday in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) found that, compared with fully vaccinated children, those who were unvaccinated had approximately 26 times the odds of having a confirmed case of pertussis, sometimes called whooping cough, which is caused by a bacterial infection. 

The paper focused on kids from the ages of six months through six years during Alaska's 2024 pertussis outbreak, which saw the highest case rate on record in the state. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Alaska Department of Health used records from VacTrAK, the database that tracks all vaccinations administered in the state. As a control, the study included kids who were treated for an acute cough, but either tested negative for pertussis or did not receive testing.

The overall adjusted vaccine effectiveness (VE) rate against pertussis among children who had received three or more DTaP doses was 96.2%. Also, VE was 85.3% among kids who were partially vaccinated, meaning they had received just one or two DTaP shots. 

Pertussis can lead to fractured ribs, brain damage, even death

These real-world findings support childhood vaccination recommendations, said the authors, who pointed to previous research showing that unvaccinated kids are more likely than those who are vaccinated to experience severe illness or require hospitalization.

Pertussis can lead to devastating outcomes among young children, including brain damage and deaths: A provisional CDC report found that 16 people died from this bacterial infection in 2025, including 10 infants. Other complications include pneumonia, vomiting after a coughing fit, or coughing that is so frequent and violent that a child fractures their rib. 

The DTaP vaccination rate among kindergartners in the United States has fallen in recent years. CDC data show it dropped to 92.0% for the 2025-26 school year; in 2017-18, it was 95.2%.

 -CIDRAP, 10/16/2026

When Maurice Kurtz woke on September 19, he felt like a minivan had hit him. His temperature spiked to 101ºF, and he was intensely fatigued. He tried taking a walk but soon returned home because it felt so difficult.  

“I went around the block and, oh, I ached so much,” Kurtz, 73, of St. Petersburg, Florida, told CIDRAP News. “This was way beyond the tightness and aching I get from the most strenuous workouts I’ve ever done.”

He thought maybe he had an early case of flu, even though he didn’t have a cough, sore throat, or stuffy or runny nose. To ease his pain, he took an over-the counter medication and rested. Over Saturday and Sunday, he slept for 16 hours, unusual for Kurtz, who enjoys swimming, biking, and running. A few days earlier, he started feeling itchy and noticed tiny red spots on his legs.

While his fever broke and he felt less sore by Monday, exhaustion still overwhelmed him. He took a test for flu and COVID-19, but the results were negative.

Staff initially refused to test Kurtz for dengue 

A friend familiar with the dengue fever outbreak in central Florida urged Kurtz to see a doctor, and he visited a local urgent care clinic, where he asked to be tested for the mosquito-borne illness. Instead, staff said they would test him for flu and COVID-19.

“I said, ‘Well, I did the COVID, flu thing, and it was negative.’ They said, ‘We just test for them,’” Kurtz recalled. “The doctor comes in and he says, ‘Well you don’t have any of those’ … I already told him I’d come for the dengue test based on the symptoms.” 

Still, the doctor pushed back at Kurtz’ request for a test. 

“He says, ‘Well, it’s really up in north county, in Hillsborough [County]. We don’t have it down here,’” Kurtz said. 

The doctor asked if he had traveled, and Kurtz said he visited Tampa, Florida, the epicenter of the dengue fever outbreak, on Friday. But Kurtz didn’t think he’d feel so sick the following day. Finally, staff took a blood sample to test him for dengue. 

After you received your COVID or any other vaccination outside our office, please let us know!

We would like to document this information into your chart.



What we need:

1. Your name
2. Name & date of vaccination received
3. Brand name
4. Lot number if available
5. Which dose you have received

• Yesterday, Yakima County, Washington, officials reported an H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) infection in a resident exposed to infected dairy cows. The case comes a week after the state’s first H5N1 detection in dairy cattle at two Yakima County farms. The person is not seriously ill and is isolating at home. The risk of avian flu to the general public remains low, the news release said.

• Florida has added 72 new locally acquired cases of dengue fever in its latest week of reporting, for a total of 368 for the year through October 10. It is the largest US dengue outbreak in decades, affecting eight counties. Most cases (310) have been in Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, but cases are increasing in Pinellas County (37).

• Four cases of plague have been confirmed in four districts in Madagascar since the end of July, and five more suspected cases were detected last week, according to media reports. The type of plague, which is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, wasn’t specified. About 200 contacts of the patients have been given preventive treatment to stem further transmission, and the government has launched flea insecticide spraying operations and awareness campaigns focused on hygiene and rodent control.

• Eight cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), including one death, were confirmed in Saudi Arabia from January 1 to October 5, the World Health Organization reported this week. MERS is a viral zoonotic disease for which dromedary camels are the primary animal reservoir; two patients reported direct contact with camels, while the rest had no known camel exposure. Officials say the cases aren’t epidemiologically linked. 



• This week, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative noted 14 cases of polio in seven countries. Afghanistan and Pakistan each documented one case of wild poliovirus type 1, the Democratic Republic of Congo logged seven cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), Madagascar reported two cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1), Mali noted two cVDPV2 cases, Nigeria documented one circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 3 case, and Somalia added one cVDPV1 case.

-CIDRAP, 10-16-2026

'Dee Dee Sharp - Mashed Potato Time'

Dee Dee Sharp hit the biggest with her first record for the Cameo/Parkway label, a blessing that pigeonholed the Philly songstress as a teenybopper forever to be identified with her number one smash from 1962, "Mashed Potatoes Time."

Living in Philadelphia, the home of Dick Clark's American Bandstand helped her career; she appeared on the syndicated teen dance show many times from 1962 to 1981.

The first black female teen idol, Sharp also became a fixture on Clark's Caravan of Stars tours, and a familiar face in the popular 16 Magazine. 

Stay Safe &

Do the 'Mash Potato' Today!