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Flu season upon us, time for vaccination

Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, some people have been thinking that the coronavirus is just another kind of flu virus. The fact is that COVID-19 may have similar symptoms, but it is not like a cold, it is not the flu. So as the flu season is approaching, health officials are urging people to get a flu shot this year. Last year’s flu outbreak was relatively mild, thanks to the precautions being taken because of COVID. Wearing masks, washing and sanitizing hands and social distancing helped stop the spread of lots of airborne illnesses, including the flu. Today, some people may be ...

Et. Cetera

City-wide clean-up Thank you to the work of the city and those at Prairieland for continuing to partner together to put on several city-wide clean-ups each year. Items that need to be disposed of can be brought to the Martin County Highway Department at 1200 Marcus Street today from 9 a.m. to noon. Dredging Dutch Creek On the topic of dredging Dutch Creek, we agree with several council members that it’s best to follow the direction of the DNR. If money doesn’t need to be spent on the project, it shouldn’t be thrown away. But on the other hand, what’s the harm in taking a ...

Booster debate doesn’t change benefits of vaccine

To boost, or not to boost, that is the question being weighed by health experts and advisors in the FDA. There are differences of opinion in the federal government regarding giving booster shots of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. President Joe Biden and his top health advisors are pushing booster campaign, but others within the FDA are cautious about saying if this would be safe and effective. To those who are dubious about the COVID-19 vaccine in the first place, this is another sign that the federal government doesn’t know what it is doing, and therefore the vaccine is to be ...

Manchin’s ‘modest’ spending limit

Sen. Joe Manchin, the moderate Democrat from West Virginia, stands like a lone bulwark of sanity amidst a sea of Democratic spending excess in Washington, D.C. As President Joe Biden stumps in the western states to push his $3.5 trillion “Build Back Better” spending package, Manchin is holding out for a far more modest spending bill. Manchin said he would support $1 trillion or $1.5 trillion in the spending bill, but not the $3.5 trillion in the current bill. Only in Washington could $1 trillion be considered “modest.” But there it is. And Manchin has the clout to shut down ...

A lesson for current vaccination controversy

You will have to turn to the Baby Boomers to find people who remember what it was like when polio was the disease that scared people as much as COVID-19 does today. A contagious viral disease, polio carries dire symptoms. It starts with flu-like symptoms fever, sore throat, headache, vomiting, but also neck or back pain and stiffness, muscle weakness. It can advance to paralysis, wasting away of muscles, trouble breathing and death. It was a disease that terrified parents and led to cancellation of school and public gatherings. Parents wouldn’t let their kids go and play with their ...

9-11, 20 years later

It has been 20 years since a double handful of terrorists, 19 in all, carried out the most vicious and cruel attack on America that we have ever seen. They hijacked four jetliners and turned them into weapons, caring nothing for the lives of those on board. Two planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. One crashed into the Pentagon. The fourth, heading back to Washington, was crashed into a Pennsylvania farm field when the passengers on board heroically rose up to take back the plane. That prevented it from destroying its intended target. Whether it was ...