Flu Vaccine Quiz – Answer Four

4. You can get the flu from the flu shot. ANSWER: False. The key word here is “shot.” The influenza injection is a killed virus vaccine. There are no active flu particles in it and it cannot give you the flu. When people think they got the flu from the flu shot they are either … Read more

Flu Vaccine Quiz – Answer One

1. The flu shot protects you from the stomach flu. ANSWER: False. The “stomach flu” is not caused by influenza and is not protected against by the flu shot. Influenza typically causes high fever, body aches, sore throat, headache, cough, and fatigue lasting about a week. » Go to Question Two

A Natural Immunity

One could arguably say that I grew up in a more “natural” household than most. In the days before eating organic became popular, my parents were making everything from scratch, getting groceries from the health food store, keeping me away from preservatives and sugar (the only candy we had in the house had to be … Read more

Is it a cold or is it COVID?

Sick kids

Recently my two sons returned from a long-awaited and well-deserved week at sleep away camp. The camp required vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 hours of attendance and had very reasonable masking guidelines (masking was required when gathering indoors in groups but not when outdoors). Yet, both kids (both fully vaccinated) came home … Read more

COVID-19: the good, the bad, and the ugly

COVID-19 It’s not over yet

Let’s talk about COVID-19: the good, the bad, and the ugly. I haven’t written for a while. The world has been too much and I’ve lost some of my focus. But also, I’ve been busy. Since last I wrote, I have become a PowerPoint guru – available for all your Zoom meeting vaccine educational needs. … Read more

COVID19: fighting our fight or flight response

Scrabble tiles fear

The process by which we make decisions is suffused with emotion. We can’t escape it. We are genetically programmed to behave in an emotional, instinctive manner. It is what helped us survive as a species. When our early human ancestors were confronted with a threat, say a charging lion, they didn’t stop to contemplate the … Read more

To mask or not to mask – that is the question

Public use of cloth masks

To mask or not to mask – that is the question… among many many others. It’s now been over a month since I started writing about the novel Coronavirus that hit our world like a ton of bricks. In that time, what we know, or think we know, about this virus has changed. Likewise, guidelines … Read more

Coronavirus Pandemic – YOUR actions matter

Pandemic - Earth with mask

Well, a great deal has happened since last I wrote. The World Health Organization upgraded the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection status to Pandemic. In Spokane, we now have identified our first 3 cases of COVID-19. Across Washington state (and in many other districts across the country), schools are closed for the next 6 weeks. Colleges are … Read more

The Coronavirus – a doctor’s story of anxiety

Coronavirus anxiety

Dear Everyone, As I sit here with a dull ache in my head, rubbing out the knot in my neck, trying to stop my heart from beating like I’ve had three cups of coffee (I’m a one cup girl, max), it occurs to me that I might just be stressed. The last few weeks, I … Read more

Coronavirus in EVERYONE’s back yard

Covid-19 an update

If you’re just tuning in, this is the second installment of my blogpost to keep myself, and you, up to speed on what’s happening with COVID-19. For the original story (and still some very good baseline information), click here. In the last week, we are no longer just seeing Coronavirus in Washington. We are now … Read more