Category: Brief Messages or Announcements

Sena Gives Me a Haircut

Sena gave me a haircut the other day. She’s been cutting my hair almost 30 years. She bought a new barber cape recently which has snaps instead of Velcro to hold it around my neck. I still have Velcro tennis shoes, though.

The first time Sena cut my hair she left a bald patch on the back of my head. The only way I found out about it was when somebody noticed it in the psychiatry department administration office where I hung out when I was chief resident.

Since then, she’s done an excellent job of cutting my hair. And she does a great job cutting her own hair too.

After the haircut, I had to trim my beard again because I looked a little lopsided.

CDC ACIP Meeting Today on Vaccines

The ACIP meeting on several vaccines begins today and runs through Friday, 8:00 a.m-5:30 p.m. on the 21st-22nd and 8:00 a.m.-12:40 p.m. on the 23rd, ET.

The committee will discuss vaccines for Respiratory Syncytial Virus in adults, Polio, and Influenza vaccines on the 21st. There will be a vote for each.

They will discuss vaccines for Pneumococcal, Dengue, Chikungunya, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (pediatric and maternal) on the 22nd. They will vote on the pneumococcal vaccine.

They will discuss Mpox, Meningococcal, and Covid-19 vaccines on the 23rd.

FDA Meeting Today on Strain Selection for Periodic Covid-19 Vaccine

The FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will meet today from 8:30 am-5:00 pm ET to discuss and make recommendations on strain selection for the periodic updated Covid-19 vaccines for the 2023-2024 vaccine campaign.

The discussion topic will be:

“Based on the evidence and other considerations presented, please
discuss selection of a specific XBB lineage (e.g., XBB.1.5 or
XBB.1.16 or XBB.2.3) for inclusion in the 2023-2024 Formula of
COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S.”

The voting question will be:

“For the 2023-2024 Formula of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S., does the
committee recommend a periodic update of the current vaccine composition to
a monovalent XBB-lineage?”

UPDATE: The committee upvoted the question unanimously. The word “periodic” was removed from the question. A September 2023 time frame was expected for availability of the new vaccine.

First Time for Iced Coffee!

Sena brought home a carton of iced coffee this afternoon. This is our first time trying it. It’s a vanilla flavor brew. It’s pretty good! I always thought coffee had to be hot to be good. And I’ve always taken it black. We both like the vanilla flavor.

A 2012 article on The Daily Meal says New Yorkers drink the most iced coffee. It’s been growing in popularity since 2010.

CDC Updated Recommendations for Covid-19 Vaccine Use

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) held a Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) meeting to discuss updated recommendations for Covid-19 vaccine use on May 11, 2023. You can view the YouTube recording of the meeting and view presentation slides at this link. The meeting was designed for clinicians.

FDA Meeting June 15, 2023 on Strain Selection for Periodic Covid-19 Vaccine

The FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will meet June 15, 2023 from 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. ET “to discuss and make recommendations on the selection of strain(s) to be included in the periodic updated COVID-19 vaccines for the 2023-2024 vaccination campaign. This discussion will include consideration of the vaccine composition for fall to winter, 2023-2024.”

Sena Letting Juggling Balls Sleep

Sena has been letting her juggling balls take a nap lately. The reason is that she has been very busy in her garden. The balls are either on the floor where she drops them—or placed neatly on a footstool.

I left my assistant coach to encourage her to practice. Unfortunately, he’s been sleeping on the job.

However, last night she practiced because I could hear balls dropping!