At local fairs, carnivals, and amusement parks across the country, you are likely to encounter the guessing game amongst the midway booths. You simply “step right up” and if the booth attendant fails to guess your age, weight, or both within a preset range, you win a prize. But could you guess a person’s approximate age without seeing them? What if you knew the person’s commonly used expressions, habits, or idiosyncrasies? Could you, do it? Give it a try for Mystery Age Alex (Alex)!
First, Alex’s favorite expressions include, “I am really ticked off,” “going to nuke my dinner in the microwave,” and “It is what it is.” Alex also loves using Latin words such as per se and ipso facto whenever possible. When it comes to social media, Alex spends many hours reading news and posting on Facebook. Alex likes to use “all caps” to emphasize a point in Facebook posts, text messages, as well as work and personal emails. Monthly bills are paid by check and retail purchases are paid with cash – and with the exact change whenever possible! Alex often dines out at a favorite chain restaurant, always asking to be seated in a booth.
If you guessed that Alex is a baby-boomer (boomer), born between 1946 and 1964, you are correct! Alex’s overview includes some of the many traits that Gen Y (Millennials) and Gen Z find most annoying about boomers. While perhaps annoying, boomers are to be recognized for their role in disease prevention.The boomers were the first generation to deal with large outbreaks of measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, and polio. Parents of boomers embraced vaccines for these diseases, seeking to protect their children from preventable illness. The widespread vaccination of this generation laid the foundation for the near or complete eradication of these dangerous illness. Thanks to the Boomers as well as some in GenX, the small pox vaccine and its distinctive scar are a thing of the past!
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the vaccination of U.S. children born between 1994 and 2018 will prevent 419 million illnesses, 26.8 million hospitalizations and help avoid 936,000 deaths. Yet today, vaccination of children and adults is among one of the most divisive issues in the country. The long-disproven myth that autism is caused by vaccine, as well as disinformation about COVID-19 and other vaccines continues to be spread by antivaxxers’ using social and traditional media. As we observe National Immunization Month (NIAM) this month, be sure you and your family’s decisions are based on facts and not on unfounded myths!
This Weekend Reading Series begins with In the News with some of the latest on COVID-19, monkeypox and other topics. Next, check out On Repeat exploring heath care challenges that never seem to disappear. In Food for Thought, you will find articles offering fresh perspectives on topics such as Amazon’s entering primary care services, the impact of long COVID on employment, the anti-vaccine movement and more. Last, but not least, check out There was a Time, and my personal favorite Why Men Thought Women Weren’t Made to Vote.
I hope you enjoy the following:
1. In the News
- Boost Now or Wait? Many Wonder How Best to Ride Out Covid’s Next Wave (Kaiser Health News)
- Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, on not waiting for fall to get second booster shot (American Medical Association)
- Monkeypox is an STI and 6 other myths debunked by an epidemiologist (Fortune)
- ‘Rogue’ Online Pharmacies Are Dispensing Cancer Drugs — Shady sites with little oversight are selling imatinib for much less than U.S. retail price (MedPage Today)
2. On Repeat
- Health Insurance Price Data: It’s Out There, but It’s Not for the Faint of Heart (Kaiser Health News)
- An animal tranquilizer is making street drugs even more dangerous (NPR)
- Nursing Homes Are Suing the Friends and Family of Residents to Collect Debts (Kaiser Health News)
- Long COVID Doubles Risk of Some Serious Outcomes in Children, Teens (WebMD)
3. Food for Thought
- Being Anti-Vaccine Is Tiring (Voices for Vaccines)
- The Anti-Vaccine Movement’s New Frontier. A wave of parents has been radicalized by Covid-era misinformation to reject ordinary childhood immunizations — with potentially lethal consequences. (The New York Times)
- Amazon’s Foray into Primary Care Won’t Be Easy (The Commonwealth Fund)
- Willed Helplessness Is the American Condition (The Atlantic)
- What are the Implications of Long COVID for Employment and Health Coverage? (Kaiser Family Foundation)
4. There was a Time
- Bourbon Country Examining the ingredients—time, grain, government regulations —that have made bourbon an enduring national favorite. (JSTOR Daily)
- Why Men Thought Women Weren’t Made to Vote – During the suffrage movement, conventional wisdom held that civic duty was bad for the ovaries. (The Atlantic)
- The Rise and Fall of Big Boy Hamburgers (American Business History Center)
- When vaccination was ‘a badge of honor’ (National Geographic)
Enjoy the weekend!
Best,
Suzanne
Suzanne Daniels, Ph.D.
AEPC President
P.O. Box 1416
Birmingham, MI 48012
Office: (248) 792-2187
Email: [email protected]
