LETTER from RICHARD STERNBERG From Russia, With Love Unintentionally but inevitably, and catastrophically, the Russian National Figure Skating Team has carried out an experiment that lets the rest of the world see what happens when you expose super-elite athletes indiscriminately to the risk of contracting COVID-19. While not immediately fatal, it is not pretty and suggests what the long-term consequences of contracting the disease may be for other young people. According to the Dec. 17 edition of The Wall Street…
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2020 CITIZEN OF YEAR General In C-19 Fight With 36 Years On Health Care’s Front Lines, Heidi Bond Was Ready By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com RICHFIELD SPRINGS Thirty-four years ago, during her first summer as a nurse’s aide at Bassett Hospital, Heidi Bond’s mother, Registered Nurse Cindy Brophy, gave her advice that has carried her through her career to date. “She told me, ‘I don’t care if you have to go cry in the bathroom every shift –…
This Christmas, Hope Should Be Foremost As We Count Our Blessings, Let’s Stay The Course Last Sunday, www.AllOTSEGO was able to trumpet the news: “VACCINE HERE! 350 Bassett Tier 1 Workers Getting Shots Over Weekend.” Within hours, thousands had clicked throughto read the good news. It – the COVID-19 pandemic – is not over, but it’s on the way to being over. This happy news comes at a time when, as the Gospel of Luke had it, humanity wishes for…
December Deadliest Month, Bond Says By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com With three deaths in two weeks, four people in the ICU and 16 hospitalized, Otsego County Public Health Director Heidi Bond has declared December to be the deadliest month of the COVID-19 pandemic so far. “Three deaths in a month is the most we’ve had,” she said. “Before that, it was two in April.” The victim, a woman over 55, had not been in the ICU, but had…
LETTER from RICHARD STERNBERG Vaccines, Part I: Pfizer Into The Fray Many people have asked me to explain vaccines to them, and specifically the ones for COVID-19. They are most concerned with how they work, when they will be available, and if they will be safe. Hopefully, this column will help. The terms vaccine and vaccination derive from the Latin name Variola vaccinae, which means small pox of the cow. Vacca is Latin for cow. The term vaccine was first…
With 10th Death, County ‘Overwhelmed,’ Bond Says County Staffing Increased As Deaths, COVID Infections Keep Growing By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com Help is on the way after county Public Health Director Heidi Bond lamented that her department is “overwhelmed.” “We’re barely keeping up with the cases coming in,” she said. “With contact tracing, that means you might not get a call if you’ve been identified as a close personal contact in a timely manner.” On Monday, Dec. 14,…
LETTER from MICHAEL JEROME Polio Fight Informs COVID Fight Editor’s Note: Michael Jerome of Cooperstown chairs the Polio Plus Committee of the Rotary E-Club of Global Trekkers, a role he played for years at the Cooperstown club. Sixty years ago, every parent in the western world feared their child would be afflicted with the crippling disease of polio. Vaccines developed by Drs. Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin enabled the U.S., Canada and several European countries to become polio free by…
FOOD FOR THOUGHT Acupuncture = Churches (Under Governor Cuomo’s COVID-19 regulations), churches and synagogues are limited to a maximum of 25 people. These restrictions apply even to the largest cathedrals and synagogues, which ordinarily hold hundreds. And the restrictions apply no matter the precautions taken, including social distancing, wearing masks, leaving doors and windows open, forgoing singing, and disinfecting spaces between services. At the same time, the Governor has chosen to impose no capacity restrictions on certain businesses he considers…
LETTER from NEW YORK STATE SHERIFFS ASSOCIATION 10 Per Table? A Step Too Far Editor’s Note: The New York State Sheriff’s Department issued this statement Monday, Nov. 23, saying local sheriffs lack the resources to enforce Governor Cuomo’s edict requiring that no more than 10 New Yorkers celebrate Thanksgiving together. This is an excerpt. Governor Cuomo issued an Executive Order which limits “non-essential private residential gatherings” to no more than 10 individuals. That has caused great consternation among many of…
HAPPENIN’ OTSEGO for FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30 Trunk Or Treat TRUNK OR TREAT – 4 p.m. Decorate your cars and bring the kids for fun activities from building a spider, pumpkin carving, make a ghost, and of course collecting candy. All stations are sanitized, 6 feet apart. The Railroad Inn, 28 Railroad Ave., Cooperstown. VOTE – 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Early Voting open. Meadows Office Complex, 140 Co. Hwy. 33W, Cooperstown. Visit www.otsegocounty.com/departments/board_of_elections/index.php for info.…
