Why you should get Covid booster now
And a non-Covid bonus: Earthquake and other Fall home safety tips, plus an update on polio virus detected in New York wastewater.
Two items in this “extra” edition, both prompted by questions I’ve gotten from friends and other readers in the past week.
This is a great time to do a quick safety check around your home. Tuesday’s earthquake in Santa Rosa, Calif., was not enough to do much damage, but it’s a great reminder that a few simple steps can keep you and your family safer if an emergency occurs.
The new Covid-19 boosters are for everyone 12 and up. This is the time to get your booster unless you had your most recent Covid shot in July or August or had Covid-19 symptoms that started within the past three months.
Do a Fall home safety check
Tuesday’s M4 earthquake in Santa Rosa, Calif., serves as a reminder that everyone ought to do a safety check around their homes. I recommend this at least twice a year.
Items to check include:
Confirm that there are two ways out from every room in your home and that everyone knows these escape routes.
Check for chemicals, flammable objects or other potentially hazardous objects. If they are no longer needed, dispose of them safely. If they are still needed, make sure they are securely stored.
Inspect your fire extinguishers. Have one near the entry/exit door to your kitchen and another in your garage.
Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Every sleeping room should have a smoke detector.
Secure tall furniture to your walls. Bookshelves that can topple over are a major hazard that should be mitigated - before an emergency occurs. You can get straps like these for less than $15 at Amazon and many local retailers.
Check for trip hazards, such as worn out carpet or clutter that might obstruct an exit path.
Review essential supplies and your “go kit” to grab if a quick evacuation is needed.
Practice evacuating. Where are your “go kits”? How would you get out if roads are blocked?
Update your family’s emergency communications plan. Do you have a way to reconnect if normal communications is interrupted and your home is inaccessible?
I’ve compiled some safety supplies at this Amazon page, or you can find smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, safety ladders and other supplies at local hardware and other retail stores.
Know what to do if the ground shakes
A couple years ago, I had a survey done to see whether Californians know what to do when the ground shakes. An alarming 15% of the random sample said they did not know what to do, and of those who thought they knew, at least 20% were flat out wrong.
10% said they would rush outside. Don’t do this! It is safer stay inside until you can assess the situation. (And if you are outside, stay there.)
Another 10% said they would stand in a doorway, which is outdated advice. In modern homes, doorways are not stronger or safer than other places. It was different when buildings had walls of unreinforced brick.
This image illustrates what to do if you are indoors when an earthquake hits:
About those boosters
The new “bivalent” Covid-19 shots are for everyone 12 and up, and the experts say getting the booster this month will provide maximum protection against any possible resurgence of Covid-19 as more people gather indoors in colder weather. You can get your flu shot at the same time (in the other arm!)
The USA is still losing more than 350 people a day to Covid-19, with nearly all of those deaths preventable if only more people got vaccinated and boosted. Only one-third of America’s older adults have received any booster doses. We must do better if we want to save lives.
According to the World Health Organization, the USA continues to outpace other countries on Covid-19 mortality. Global deaths from Covid-19 remain high: over 11,000 Covid-19 fatalities were recorded in the week of September 11, 2022, which represents a decrease of 22% over the prior week.
When I got my booster last weekend, it took less than 30 seconds for the injection, and I was out of the pharmacy in less than 20 minutes altogether.
As with prior Covid-19 vaccines, the full immune response from the shot takes 10-14 days. My arm was slightly sore for about 36 hours, and I had a very slight headache the next morning.
Polio cases in New York are linked to communities with low vaccination levels. The virus detected in wastewater in Rockland County, N.Y., appears to have derived from the weakened poliovirus that was in vaccines that have not been used in the United States since 2000.
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