【《We Chinese in America》Media Editor Tang Zhao, November 16, 2022】Per County of San Diego Communications Office, it’s like a ticket to a better life—and it comes in the form of a simple card.(Photo credit: County of San Diego Communications Office)
A new program designed to help people who have spent time in County detention facilities successfully return to their communities and build brighter futures has issued more than 120 library cards in its first year.
The library card program started in October 2021 as a pilot program for women at the Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility. It proved so successful that it has already been expanded to all county detention and reentry facilities.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and County Library teamed up to add library cards to reentry services. The library card program hopes to help people coming home improve their lives by giving them access—not just to books, but to all County Library programs, and to create “lifelong learners.”
For example, they can start the path to earning a free high school diploma through the Library High School. And they can check out “Tech Connect” Chromebook laptops, Wi-Fi hotspots and get a free year of internet service to help with job searches, education and training.
Because they don’t need any other identification to get the library card and the access it brings, the program offers immediate hope, a sense of belonging and community.
County Library officials said the program has been welcomed.
Liz Vagani, manager of Library’s Santee branch, said she talked with a man who received a reentry library card when he came to the library to pick up his “Tech Connect” Chrome laptop.
“He was very thankful,” Vagani said. “We chatted a bit about what the library had to offer. That’s when he told me he knew this would change his life.”
Posters promoting the library card program are placed in County detention facilities. People can complete the application process through their counselors. Library staff issue the card—an ID packaged with a list of services and library branch locations. The packet is stored with the applicant’s belongings and given to them upon release—meaning every one of them can rejoin their communities with a card in hand.
For more information about the Sheriff’s Department Reentry Services, visit the division’s webpage.
To learn more about the San Diego County Library system, go to its website at sdcl.org.
(Source: County of San Diego Communications Office)
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The County and Marine Corps can help you get that good feeling! Just drop off a new, unwrapped toy in one of the annual Toys for Tots donation boxes between now and Dec. 10 at one of five County airports: McClellan Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, Gillespie Field in El Cajon, Fallbrook Airpark in Fallbrook, Ramona Airport in Ramona and Borrego Valley Airport in Borrego Springs.
Two of those airports, Fallbrook Airpark and Ramona Airport, will hold special Toys for Tots collection events in December where uniformed Marines will be on hand to collect your gifts in person.
The first event is scheduled to be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 3, at Ramona Airport, located at 2450 Montecito Road in Ramona. The second is scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. the following weekend, Saturday, Dec. 10, at Fallbrook Airpark, located at 2155 Air Park Road in Fallbrook.
Donations will be accepted at all five airports until 1 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 10.
Donations being accepted are new, unwrapped toys, bikes, games, dolls, stuffed animals and other things to play with that will help brighten up a child’s holidays.
All donations will be given out to children in San Diego County communities. Pilots are welcome to fly in to deliver their donations at the airports.
So, get that good holiday feeling! Help the County of San Diego and the U.S. Marine Corps put smiles on the faces of local kids by dropping off a new toy for a child.
- Borrego Valley Airport: 1820 Palm Canyon Dr, Borrego Springs, CA, 92004
- Fallbrook Airpark: 2155 Air Park Road, Fallbrook, CA, 92028
- Gillespie Field: 1960 Joe Crosson Drive, El Cajon, CA, 92020
- McClellan Palomar Airport: 2192 Palomar Airport Road, Carlsbad, CA, 92011
- Ramona Airport: 2450 Montecito Road, Ramona, CA, 92065
For more information, contact the Fallbrook Airpark at (760) 723-8395 or Ramona Airport at (760) 788-3366.
(Source: County of San Diego Communications Office)
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【《We Chinese in America》Media Editor Tang Zhao, November 13, 2022】Per inter viruses are occurring early this year, especially for our kids. With Thanksgiving two weeks away, there is no better time than now to get your COVID-19 bivalent booster and flu shot.(Photo credit: County of San Diego Communications Office)
It takes about two weeks after vaccination until the body develops sufficient immunity against both viruses, so this is the ideal time to get the two vaccines before getting together with family during the upcoming holidays.
“Don’t let flu, COVID-19 or respiratory syncytial virus ruin your family reunions this holiday season,” said Wilma J. Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “Protect yourself and your family, stay up to date on flu and COVID-19 vaccines and consider masking in crowded indoor spaces until virus activity slows.”
COVID-19 and flu vaccines are widely available across the region and can be administered during the same visit. It’s important to note that the flu vaccine does not protect people against COVID and the COVID vaccine or booster does not protect against the flu. Therefore, it is recommended that eligible San Diegans get vaccinated for both viruses.
There is no vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) but established disease prevention measures can protect people from getting ill with any of the three respiratory viruses that are currently circulating in the community.
These measures include:
- Consider a well-fitting, good-quality mask, especially indoors or in crowded spaces.
- Wash hands thoroughly and often;
- Use hand sanitizers, if unable to wash hands;
- Stay away from sick people;
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth;
- Clean commonly touched surfaces; and
- If you are sick, stay home and avoid contact with others.
Local Vaccination Efforts
COVID-19 booster vaccination rates in San Diego County are right in line with rates in other parts of the state. So far, 328,172 San Diegans have received their bivalent booster.
That’s about 13% of eligible County residents, about the same as rates in other parts of the state
COVID-19 Vaccination Progress:
- More than 2.68 million or 80.3% of San Diegans received the primary series of one of the approved COVID-19 vaccines.
- Boosters administered: 1,490,046 or 59.8% of 2,490,511 eligible San Diegans.
- More vaccination information can be found at coronavirus-sd.com/vaccine.
COVID-19 Deaths:
- 12 additional deaths were reported since the last report on Nov. 3, 2022. The region’s total is 5,543.
- Of the 12 additional deaths, five were women and seven were men. They died between Sept. 1, 2021 and Oct. 1, 2022. None of the newly reported deaths occurred in the last two weeks.
- Six of the people who died were 80 years or older, two were in their 70s, two were in their 60s and two were in their 50s.
- Eight received at least the primary series of the vaccine and four had not.
- Ten had underlying medical conditions and two did not have any underlying medical conditions.
COVID-19 Cases, Case Rates and Testing:
- 2,016 COVID-19 cases were reported to the County in the past seven days (Nov. 1 to Nov. 7, 2022). The region’s total is now 933,270.
- The 2,016 cases reported in the past week were higher compared to the 1,702 infections identified the previous week (Oct. 25 to Oct. 31, 2022).
- 5,957 tests were reported to the County on Nov. 5, and the percentage of new positive cases was 4.1% (Data through Nov. 5).
- The 14-day rolling percentage of positive cases, among tests reported through Nov. 5, is 3.8%.
Influenza Activity
The County Health and Human Services Agency now publishes the Respiratory Virus Surveillance Report weekly. The report is published each Thursday and tracks key respiratory illness indicators, including flu cases and deaths.
For the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, the report shows the following:
- No additional flu deaths, the season’s total remains at 2
- Emergency department visits for influenza-like illness: 9% of all visits (compared with 7% the previous week)
- Lab-confirmed influenza cases for the week: 1,732 (compared to 1,201 the previous week)
- Total lab-confirmed cases to date: 5,471 (compared to 291 at the same time last season and a 259 prior 5-year average during the same week)
(Source: County of San Diego Communications Office)
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【《We Chinese in America》Media Editor Tang Zhao, November 14, 2022】 The risk of death, hospitalization and serious health issues from COVID-19 jumps significantly with reinfection compared with a first bout with the virus, regardless of vaccination status, a study published on Thursday suggests.
"Reinfection with COVID-19 increases the risk of both acute outcomes and long COVID," said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "This was evident in unvaccinated, vaccinated and boosted people."
The findings were drawn from U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) data collected from March 1, 2020 through April 6, 2022 on 443,588 patients with one SARS-CoV-2 infection, 40,947 with two or more infections, and 5.3 million noninfected individuals. Most of the study subjects were male.
Reinfected patients had a more than doubled risk of death and a more than tripled risk of hospitalization compared with those who were infected with COVID just once. They also had elevated risks for problems with lungs, heart, blood, kidneys, diabetes, mental health, bones and muscles, and neurological disorders, according to a report published in Nature Medicine.
"Even if one had prior infection and was vaccinated - meaning they had double immunity from prior infection plus vaccines - they are still susceptible to adverse outcomes upon reinfection," Al-Aly, the study leader, said.
People in the study with repeat infections were more than three times more likely to develop lung problems, three times more likely to suffer heart conditions and 60% more likely to experience neurological disorders than patients who had been infected only once. The higher risks were most pronounced in the first month after reinfection but were still evident six months later, researchers found.
Experts not involved with the study said the VA population does not reflect the general population.
Patients at VA health facilities are generally older, sicker people and often men, a group that would typically have more than normal health complications, said John Moore, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.
The researchers said cumulative risks and burdens of repeat infection increased with the number of infections, even after accounting for differences in COVID-19 variants such as Delta, Omicron and BA.5.
However, Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease epidemiologist and an editor-at-large at Kaiser Health News, said there seemed to be a "plateauing effect with multiple infections," with less of a jump in risk after the second infection.
"The good news there is that the better people are protected with immunity, likely the risk of developing some of the complications will be lower over time," she added.
Still, Al-Aly cautioned that people should not let their guard down.
"We had started seeing a lot of patients coming to the clinic with an air of invincibility," he told Reuters. "They wondered, 'Does getting a reinfection really matter?' The answer is yes, it absolutely does."
Ahead of the fast approaching holiday season with travel and indoor gatherings, "people should be aware that reinfection is consequential and should take precautions," he added.
(Source:Reuters )
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Dining with Asian Food and Wine (November 2022)
Dining with Asian Food and Wine
November 2022: Beaujolais Day
by
Ronald Jan, M.D.
Beaujolais Day is celebrated on the 3rd Thursday in November every year. When Philip, The Bold of France outlawed the Gamay grape, the southern-most part of Burgundy, Beaujolais defiantly grew the Gamay Grape. And following harvest winemakers would celebrate the harvest by serving a “party wine.” Made in a different manner (“carbonic maceration”) this Gamay is light, fruity and very low in alcohol. This wine was not designed to be big, bold and complex. It is not designed to be aged in the bottle for 5,10,15 years or longer. The Gamay Beaujolais Nouveau was made to be consumed immediately to celebrate the harvest. In fact, many people feel that after 1 or 2 months following release to the consumer the wine falls off rapidly in aromas and flavors. (Photo credit https://www.winetourism.com/wine-region/beaujolais/)
And so, the 2022 vintage of this wine is made to be consumed in the latter part of November, “Beaujolais Day,” the 3rd Thursday in November (this year 17 November 2022) when the wine bottle may be opened at 12:01 a.m.
[Photo credit :https://www.wine.com/product/duboeuf-beaujolais-nouveau-2022/1098351#]
[This year’s Beaujolais nouveau will not be available until 17 November 2022]
This celebration of the grape harvest is not new. In his interview with Georges Duboeuf, Anthony Rose noted that the celebration of the first fruits of the new vintage began “long before the [World War II] war” seeing the “new vintage Beaujolais had flowed regularly into the cafes of Lyon and St. Etienne.”
Georges Duboeuf, a vintner in Beaujolais was a marketing genius and had a flair for the dramatic. Seeing Alexis Lichine’s exhibition “De la Vigne et du Vin” Georges Duboeuf promoted the first “Taste d’Or” in Beaujolais linking film stars, sports heroes, chefs and artists. Then he saw a sign in a Paris bistro, “le beaujolais nouveau est arrive,” and he organized the first race from Beaujolais to Paris to get the first bottle of Beaujolais’s first wine of the vintage to Paris. In 1970 this race expanded to London. Who was going to be the first to bring the Beaujolais nouveau to London? This ingenious marketing with attention to rigorous monitoring of the wine and extreme dedication to hygiene by Georges Duboeuf earned him tremendous respect and the title, “king” or “pope” of Beaujolais.
There are wine “experts” who might decry this “party wine” saying that it “lacks depth, body, complexity and tertiary notes that would allow it to age well in the bottle.” All this may be true but made in this manner this wine was intended to be consumed young. This light, fruity wine is fresh and should be served lightly chilled with foods that are also light in flavors such as a stir-fry chicken.
[Photo credit: https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Stir-fried-Honey-Chicken-1856754]
Or here in the U.S.A. the following Thursday in November (the 4th Thursday) is Thanksgiving Day and one might serve this Beaujolais Nouveau with the Turkey bringing additional fruit to the cranberry and Turkey on the table.
[Photo credit: https://www.eater.com/2018/11/15/18096645/thanksgiving-2018-smaller-turkeys-trend-millennials]
To be fair to the Gamay Grape I should say that this grape can yield excellent wines with complexity, capable of ageing when made in more traditional ways of fermenting with yeast and ageing in oak barrels then developing tertiary notes in the bottle as seen in Beaujolais Village or the famed Beaujolais Cru. But, the Beaujolais Nouveau remains a wine to celebrate the harvest.
So, let’s have a party!
About the author: Dr. Ronald G. Jan who specializes in Vascular Surgery is a Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of California at Davis School of Medicine. As a hobby, he holds WSET level 3 certification in wines and has been writing and publishing wine commentaries attracting lots of readers.
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