@Bootsie How long did your symptoms last? If not too long, that might be encouraging - a good immune response(?)! ... and thank you for sharing!

From what I'm seeing, independent businesses are free to allow people to vote with their feet/dollars. https://news.yahoo.com/florida-gov-ron-desantis-bans-182922772.html "The order requires businesses to comply if they intend to seek state grants and contracts."

Thank you for posting this. Do you mind telling us how high her heart rate was and how long it lasted. For me, I'm signed up for the J&J this coming week, but I'm also curious since that's the one I think my college-aged ds will be willing to take.

So, historically, how long has it usually taken for adverse reactions to show up in vaccines? People worrying out loud about long-term issues that could arise from mRNA have me feeling jumpy. None of us have any autoimmune issues, and feeling poorly for a few days (if it even comes to that) is a worthwhile trade off for me, but the threat of long-term issues is scary.

Research released by CDC today about real-world effectiveness of a single dose of Pfizer and Moderna: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/1-dose-moderna-pfizer-vaccines-effective-covid-19-get-second-dose-experts-192823135.html

I'm praying.

You're probably right. Sadly.

I agree, and I appreciate that Rutgers is making this decision early on (before that May 1st decision date?), but I hate it that anyone is mandating it now. I think it just adds fuel to the anti-vaccine fire for some folks.

Help me understand this. I've seen so many people on this board dismiss the idea that someone died with Covid, not from Covid. A person who had congestive heart failure/diabetes/cancer, etc., or who was just elderly and acquired Covid and died. These same people seem to take the opposite tack on people who died following a vaccine (Well, he probably died as a result of... whatever). Btw, I know it can be difficult to read tone. I'm not trying to be argumentative. I really don't understand the difference, though it's probably obvious to everyone else. 🙃

I understand the required vaccine policy, but I think it's wrong to require students to take a vaccine that isn't yet FDA approved. Yes, college is optional, but their mandate would apply to students who are only one or two semesters from graduation, leaving them with little choice but to take the vaccine even if they don't want to take that risk.

Maybe, but I don't see how they can require it before the vaccines are out of EUA. If that doesn't happen until the fall or later, aren't they are requiring students to be part of the drug trial?

I have been following this story. I've read that most Rutgers students are fine with the requirement, but I don't know that it would stand up to a court challenge. This was on my ds' school's website (Texas A&M): As the different versions of the vaccine are currently approved only under a Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization, they currently cannot be required of employees or students. Maybe this is a state law issue. A&M is urging everyone to get the vaccine, and will provide it on campus as soon as they can get doses. TX opens all adult tiers tomorrow. We'll see. The word "currently" looms large.

Evidently, the Chicken Pox, shingles, and rubella vaccines (among others) also used fetal cells in their development. https://www.khou.com/article/news/verify/johnson-and-johnson-aborted-fetal-cells-verify/285-6d4fe5ba-3763-4d4e-ba32-294f3fa39020 From the article: (Dr. Amesh Adalja, a Senior Scholar at Johns Hopkins who treats infectious disease, critical care and emergency patients and also works on pandemic policy.) Dr. Adalja says, while the COVID-19 vaccine is getting a lot of attention right now, fetal cell lines are used to make many vaccines. “The Chicken Pox vaccine, the shingles vaccine, the hepatitis A vaccine, the rubella vaccine, one of the rabies vaccines, all used fetal cells. So, this is nothing new,” Adalja said.

Regarding the in-home help, I really meant help for your dad - and not necessarily home health - to ease his load, since you said you are worried that he's doing too much. But it may be that the burden he's carrying involves providing hands-on care for her, so in-home help wouldn't be much help at all. You've probably already thought of all this. It's just not easy, and I'm sorry.

In her first memoir, she wrote about an early memory of hearing all the church bells in her town ringing at one time. She said that, years later, she asked her mother what had happened that day. Her mother told her it was the end of the First World War.

Yes, I loved reading both A Girl from Yamhill and My Own Two Feet. It was fun to see how much of her own life ended up in her books. My favorite of her fictional books was The Luckiest Girl.

You make an excellent point. Even in urban areas with lots of agencies, employee turnover is high. The agencies will charge maybe $30-ish per hour, often with a four hour minimum, but the workers themselves usually don't make much. I have heard of people who have had better success finding home-help through word of mouth and paying those workers themselves more money. It's just not easy to find reliable people to help at home, but if an elder absolutely refuses to leave the house, it's one (often less than ideal) solution.

Here's a specific brand I had heard of: https://www.amazon.com/Comfort-Bath-Cleansing-Washcloths-Pack/dp/B00TE93U2I/ref=asc_df_B00TE93U2I/?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=&hvpos=&hvnetw=o&hvrand=&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583657821802502&psc=1

@City Mouse, I don't want to derail this thread, but has anyone tried those disposable bath cloths with your mom? Could she use them herself? They are usually rinse-free and can be a good alternative in this situation (which is unfortunately common). I've known several people whose bath-resistant parents have been willing to use them, particularly if the cloths are warmed slightly. Also, can your parents afford some in-home help -- not to help your mom but to ease the load on your dad?

Me too. Do we import much tp? ETA I see. It's raw materials and shipping crates they're worried about.

Yes. Bible church. We were online only from March 15th through the end of August. Then we began meeting outdoors. (We've had a Youtube option for years, though it's much fancier now. 😁) We've been masked and outdoors all winter apart from two rainy Sundays and Valentine's Day, which was the first day of the crazy freeze in TX. The elders serve drive-by communion for those who want it.

If the party will take place after dark, what about showing an outdoor movie? Make a movie screen with a king-sized sheet attached to a fence, or to a pole supported by two ladders. You can borrow/rent an LCD projector, or buy a pocket projector (about $175, - give it to the graduate later as a gift. They are pretty useful.). Serve popcorn, boxed candy (the kind we used to buy at the movie theater - Walmart has them), sno-cones from a rented machine, ice cream in individual cups, whatever, and set up canvas chairs - borrow them from friends. Or rent folding chairs. If you have a pool, show water movies: Jaws(!), Nemo, Lilo and Stitch (set in HI), Water Horse, etc. Let guests float around while watching. If not, what about nostalgic movies from the grad's childhood, old movies, something fast and adventurous? I think a buffet is fine with masked servers. You can also buy those partitioned food containers and load them up, giving everyone the same thing. Amazon has them, and they also have plastic, individual cupcake holders.

The question was, "Has the word "white" historically been used to exclude you from various public facilities in this country?" (emphasis mine) I was answering the question, not the broader question of all of the wrongs ever committed against "non-white" people. I just don't like being called "white" or "Caucasian", because it seems strange to me. It's not likely to change, but it bothers me.

Not personally. Of course not. I still find being called "white" ridiculous.

Why isn't it offensive to call people "white"? I'm not white. I don't know anyone who is. Copy machine paper is white. I'm also not Caucasian. My ancestors aren't from the Caucasus Mountain area (near the Caspian Sea). But I'm called Caucasian, or White, non-Hispanic.