Category: current events

  • When it Comes to AI, What Are We Really Talking About?

    When it Comes to AI, What Are We Really Talking About?

    I’ve been reading about artificial intelligence (AI) in general and its healthcare applications. I tried searching the web in general about it and got the message: “An AI Overview is not available for this search.” I’m ambivalent about that message. There are a couple of web articles, one of which I read twice in its…

  • Protecting the Universe from the Scum of the Earth

    Protecting the Universe from the Scum of the Earth

    The title of this post might sound familiar to those who have seen the movie Men in Black way too many times, like me. There’s a trailer poster from the 1997 MIB movie showing Agents J and K holding huge space guns and the title is “Protecting the Earth from the Scum of the Universe.”…

  • Huston-Tillotson University News!

    Huston-Tillotson University News!

    I feel like I should put on my Huston-Tillotson College (H-TC) news reporter press tag for this brief announcement, which you can get pretty much anywhere on the web anyway. Just a reminder, I was a reporter for the Ramshead Journal back in the 1970s for H-TC (now H-T University). The breaking news is that…

  • CDC ACIP Highlights on Covid 19 Vaccine

    CDC ACIP Highlights on Covid 19 Vaccine

    There was a lot to digest in today’s CDC ACIP meeting on Covid-19 vaccines. I missed the morning sessions but managed to see a few of the afternoon presentations. The presentation by Dr. Retsef Levi, PhD, MIT, ACIP Work Group Chair, the Covid -19 Vaccine Discussion Framing Work Group (WG) was basically pretty critical of…

  • Comments on CDC ACIP Meeting Today

    Comments on CDC ACIP Meeting Today

    There are updates to the CDC ACIP meetings posted now. It looks like the anticipated votes on the MMRV and Hepatitis B vaccines are posted.

  • Public Comments on Upcoming CDC ACIP Meeting Posted

    Public Comments on Upcoming CDC ACIP Meeting Posted

    I have just noticed that there are over 5,000 comments posted on the comments section of regulations.gov in the section entitled Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices-September 2025. The link to the comment section is on the CDC ACIP meeting announcement web page, “Written Public Comments.” This is the first time I’ve seen…

  • Upcoming CDC ACIP September Meeting on MMVR & Covid-19 Vaccines

    Upcoming CDC ACIP September Meeting on MMVR & Covid-19 Vaccines

    The upcoming meeting on the MMVR and Covid-19 vaccines will include voting on the MMVR and Covid-19 vaccines. Usually, the committee posts the actual voting questions, which so far I have not seen on the meeting agenda. I’ll be looking for them in the next couple of days. Here is the link to the Center…

  • CDC ACIP Meeting Agenda Posted

    CDC ACIP Meeting Agenda Posted

    I just noticed that the CDC ACIP draft agenda for upcoming meeting on September 18th and 19th has been posted. There will be votes on the MMRV, Hepatitis B, and Covid-19 vaccines.

  • University of Iowa Physician Wins Lasker Award!

    University of Iowa Physician Wins Lasker Award!

    How about some good news? This just in, University of Iowa Physician-Scientist, Dr. Michael Welsh, wins the 2025 Lasker Award for his research on cystic fibrosis. His work and the work of two other researchers with whom he’ll share the award set the stage for the development of new drugs which saves the lives of…

  • 24th Anniversary of 9/11 Attack on America: A Reminder of Our Connection to Each Other

    24th Anniversary of 9/11 Attack on America: A Reminder of Our Connection to Each Other

    I’m thinking about the upcoming commemoration of the 24th Anniversary of the 9/11/2001 attack on America. There will be the annual event in New York City. In Muscatine, Iowa, there will be the annual Patriot Day ceremonies sponsored by the City of Muscatine and the Muscatine Fire Department. After the morning ceremony, the Memorial Stair…