Doris O'Brien is a retired college Speech teacher and banker. She has published two books of humor (Up or Down With Women's Liberation and Humor Me a Little) and for many years contributed light verse to the Pepper 'n Salt column of the Wall Street Journal. She is an avid writer of letters to the editors.
Doris celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary in the same year she welcomed her first grandchild. She now lives in Pasadena with a great view of the San Gabriel mountains — and the annual Tournament of Roses Parade.
She can be reached by e-mail: witsendob at (@) gmail.com
CDC: When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated: What You Can Start to Do
CDC: Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, find a vaccine. This guidance applies to COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson (J&J)/Janssen COVID-19 vaccines. This guidance can also be applied to COVID-19 vaccines that have been authorized for emergency use by the World Health Organization (e.g. AstraZeneca/Oxford). more »
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use in Adolescents in Another Important Action in Fight Against Pandemic
“Having a vaccine authorized for a younger population is a critical step in continuing to lessen the immense public health burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “With science guiding our evaluation and decision-making process, the FDA can assure the public and medical community that the available data meet our rigorous standards to support the emergency use of this vaccine in the adolescent population 12 years of age and older.” The FDA has updated the Fact Sheets for Healthcare Providers Administering the Vaccine (Vaccination Providers) and for Recipients and Caregivers with information to reflect the use of the vaccine in the adolescent population, including the benefits and risks of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. more »
GAO Report: Maternal Mortality and Morbidity: Additional Efforts Needed to Assess Program Data for Rural and Underserved Areas
There's a greater risk of maternal death during pregnancy or soon after from pregnancy-related causes among rural residents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC and the Health Resources and Services Administration fund programs aimed at reducing maternal mortality, including in rural or underserved areas where it can be harder to get health care services. These agencies collect data — like the percentage of women receiving postpartum visits — but don't always separate and analyze this data for rural and underserved areas. We recommended they do so to help ensure program funding helps those in need. more »
Jill Norgren Reviews Women’s Liberation!: Feminist Writings That Inspired a Revolution & Still Can
Jill Norgren Reviews: "In their newly published compendium, Women’s Liberation! Feminist Writings That Inspired a Revolution & Still Can editors Alix Kates Shulman and Honor Moore have selected ninety important texts written from 1963 through 1991 that educate us on the range of feminist thinking in the 20th century – what it meant to be a woman in the United States and the changes that these authors wanted, often demanded. And like the Seneca Falls Declaration, once read these writings provide a similar opportunity to explore which feminist goals have been achieved and where the movement is still reaching." more »
