A link to an Associated Press report from Uruguay begins the collection below. Next, from the Berkshire Eagle (for subscribers), a link to a column by Clarence Fanto updating readers on medical authorities’ Covid information, and a news story by Fanto about a free forum this coming Saturday suggesting ways to deal with Covid-related stress. Then, a link to the thoughts of a retired medical librarian in Britain on societal and family discord caused by Covid experiences and how to heal the rifts. — MCM
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Uruguay suspends COVID vaccination for children under 13, by Guillermo Garat | The Associated Press MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — Uruguay stopped administering coronavirus vaccine to children under age 13 after a judge ordered today that all inoculations in that age group halt until officials present documents relating to contracts signed with vaccine manufacturers. Judge Alejandro Recarey issued the injunction under a petition filed by a lawyer who represents a group of anti-vaccine activists. The vaccinations in children under 13 had been on a voluntary basis, and the government said it will appeal . . . READ MORE . . .
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Out of the woods from COVID? Not quite yet, by Clarence Fanto | The Berkshire Eagle Much as we wish it weren’t true, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that an omicron subvariant dubbed BA.5 is rapidly spreading in Massachusetts and nationwide. The figures remain horrific: about 100,000 daily cases reported officially in the U.S., with 33,000 COVID patients in hospitals on a typical day (nearly 4,000 in intensive care) as well as 300 to 400 daily deaths. The death toll is much lower than the January 2021 peak of 3,300 but . . . READ MORE . . .
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Forum will explore COVID-related stress, by Clarence Fanto | The Berkshire Eagle STOCKBRIDGE, Massachusetts — This Saturday at 9 a.m. in an outdoor setting at the Marian Fathers on Eden Hill, a group of specialists from the Erikson Institute for Education, Research, and Advocacy at the Austen Riggs Center will host a community forum to discuss post-traumatic stress experienced by people from all walks of life. The free, 90-minute public event at 2 Prospect Hill Road is a collaboration between the leading mental health facility founded in 1913 and the Tri-Town Health Boards of Lee, Lenox and Stockbridge. No registration is required to attend the forum, titled “Grappling with COVID-19: What can we learn from our experiences during the pandemic?” “Isolation, anxiety . . . READ MORE . . .
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Healing Covid’s Divisiveness, by Elizabeth Woodworth | Lizzy’s Newsletter Many millions of families in Western nations have been internally stressed, if not broken, as a result of the global Covid-19 infection and the policies surrounding it. . . . Throughout much of 2020, while the vaccines were still in development, prominent epidemiologists were presenting high-level evidence that early treatment protocols could save millions of lives. This evidence was ignored and/or ridiculed in the media. Cracks in public confidence began to emerge in December 2020 with the arrival of the mRNA vaccines, along with passports to monitor vaccination status. Suddenly there was a rift in society. . . . But what was happening between the willing and the unwilling in families and friendships . . . ? READ MORE . . .