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PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. DECEMBER 31.2020
First COVID-19 vaccine for healthcare workers
delivered to public health in north Georgia
The North Georgia Health
District announced that Whit
field County Health Depart
ment received an initial
shipment of Pfizer COVID-
19 vaccine and began admin
istrating the vaccine to
healthcare workers from a
variety of medical offices on
Friday.
This first shipment of
Pfizer vaccine contained
1,950 doses and is being kept
in an ultracold freezer re
quired for storage and tem
perature control of the
vaccine.
Moderna vaccine should
begin arriving in Georgia
next week and will be distrib
uted to health departments
for administration to health
care workers in Cherokee,
F annin, Gilmer, Murray,
Pickens and Whitfield coun
ties.
Both Pfizer and Moderna
COVID-19 vaccine requires
the administration of two
doses to be fully effective.
Because initial COVID-
19 vaccine supplies are lim
ited, the Georgia Department
of Public Health (DPH) at the
state and local level is fol
lowing the recommendations
of Centers for Disease Con
trol and Prevention (CDC)
and the Advisory Committee
on Immunization Practices
(ACIP) by prioritizing the
vaccine for healthcare per
sonnel and residents of long
term care facilities. The
North Georgia Health Dis
trict will also make vaccine
available to local hospitals as
those facilities await their
own deliveries.
COVID-19 vaccines arriving at Ga. nursing homes
By Beau Evans
Staff Writer
Capitol Beat News Service
Nursing homes in Georgia
began receiving the first
wave of COVID-19 vaccines
on Monday, bringing relief to
the state’s most vulnerable
group of people.
About 39,000 doses of the
vaccine made by pharmaceu
tical company Pfizer have
shipped to elderly-care facil
ities as well as CVS and Wal
greens pharmacies, which are
partnering with the federal
government to send doses di
rectly to nursing homes, said
state Public Health Commis
sioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey.
Staff at nursing homes
who serve as “the firewall”
protecting elderly residents
will likely be vaccinated first,
Toomey said during a news
conference at Pruitt Health’s
elderly-term care facility in
Gainesville.
She noted nursing-home
residents account for 37% of
Georgia’s deaths stemming
from COVID-19, despite
making up just 5% of the
state’s overall positive cases.
“We hope with these vac
cines we will begin to change
those statistics and save
lives,” Toomey said.
Toomey also announced
the state has set up a new
vaccine-focused hotline for
Georgians to ask questions
about when they will get the
vaccine, what the difference
is between the two brands
and how the vaccines are
safe. The hotline number is
1-888-357-0169.
So far, Georgia has been
allocated 268,000 doses of
the Pfizer vaccine and
234,000 doses of a vaccine
produced by pharmaceutical
company Moderna. Health
care workers have been first
in line to receive the vaccines
starting earlier this month.
More than 26,000 vaccines
have been given as of Sun
day.
Gov. Brian Kemp noted
more than 95% of all elderly-
care facilities in Georgia
have signed up with CVS and
Walgreens for the direct-dis
tribution program, which will
cut out an extra step of rout
ing vaccines through state of
ficials.
“We are eager to see the
vaccine make its way quickly
and safely to our most vul
nerable and to those brave
Georgians who are giving
them world-class care,”
Kemp said Monday in
Gainesville.
The first vaccine ship
ments come as Georgia con
tinues seeing COVID-19
positive cases and hospital
izations spike amid the win
ter holiday season. Case rates
have now shot far above the
prior transmission peak seen
in July with around 5,000
new positive cases daily in
recent days.
Kemp said 60 emergency
hospital beds at the Georgia
World Congress Center in At
lanta should be ready for use
by the end of this week. The
state should have an 80-day
stockpile of protective gear
on hand by the end of this
month, he added.
The governor urged Geor
gians to keep distancing,
wash hands and limit gather
ings ahead of upcoming New
Year’s celebrations, espe
cially people ages 18 to 29,
who have seen the highest
transmission rates in recent
weeks and risk spreading the
virus to more vulnerable
family members.
“I’m encouraging every
one to be part of the solution,
not the problem,” Kemp said.
Family Matters
Nurturing curiosity in children
Standard or daylight time?
General Assembly may ask
Georgia voters
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA - Georgia
Sen. Ben Watson doesn’t
care whether the Peach
State observes standard
time all year or daylight
saving time.
Watson, R-Savannah, a
physician, just wants Geor
gians to pick one or the
other because studies show
switching back and forth
every six months causes
heart disease and sleeping
disorders.
“I prefer either way,” he
said. “Let’s quit changing
it.”
Watson pre-filed two
bills this month, one calling
for a nonbinding advisory
referendum asking Geor
gians whether they would
rather the state observe
standard time all year, day
light saving time all year, or
whether they would rather
continue switching between
the two.
Under the other meas
ure, Georgia would observe
standard time all year, by
passing a referendum.
A third bill pre-filed this
month by state Rep. Wes
Cantrell, R-Woodstock,
calls for observing daylight
saving time all year.
The Senate passed legis
lation introduced by Watson
last March calling for a
nonbinding referendum on
the issue. But the General
Assembly shut down for
three months shortly after
that vote due to the coron-
avirus pandemic, and the
measure died in the Georgia
House of Representatives.
“It just got caught up in
the pandemic, and I didn’t
press it,” Watson said.
Only two states -
Hawaii and Arizona - re
main on standard time all
year, as do the overseas
U.S. territories of Puerto
Rico, American Samoa,
Guam, the Northern Mari
anas Islands and the U.S.
Virgin Islands.
Any state wishing to ob
serve daylight time all year
must seek congressional ap
proval.
“My gut is most people
would like to go to daylight
time all the time,” Watson
said. “It may be better to put
it on the ballot and see if we
can get some consensus.”
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By Mary Migliaro
Parent Mentor
Curiosity is something all
babies are born with. They
come into the world with a
drive to understand how the
world works. The more curi
ous a child is, the more he
leams. Nurturing your child’s
curiosity is one of the most
important things you can do.
According to research
conducted by the Association
for Psychological Science,
curiosity is a big part of aca
demic performance. Curios
ity involves asking questions,
finding answers, or creating
solutions, and not being
afraid of failure. Research
has shown that when children
question and examine what is
around them, they do better
at school, in relationships and
at work.
Children who are curious
are more open to new experi
ences, more comfortable
dealing with anxiety and ob
stacles, and more resilient.
Encourage your child’s inter
ests. Your child’s curiosity
will naturally lead her toward
topics and activities that in
terest her.
Teach your child how to
observe. Observation (and
adventure) often starts with a
simple, “I wonder.
Get your kids into the
habit of noticing both the big
picture and the small details
so that curiosity can take
root. Point out interesting
things you see yourself. For
instance, “Look at that but
terfly. How many colors can
you count on its wings?” You
can also use abstract images
to get them to use their imag
ination. Go outside and ob
serve the clouds. Look for
shapes or images the clouds
might make as you watch
them.
Another way to stimulate
your child’s imagination is to
begin telling a story and stop
occasionally and let them
continue the story. Most im
portantly, don’t stifle their
participation by suggesting
they change their narrative. It
can be a silly story, after all.
Here are some additional
tips for nurturing curiosity:
• Model interest in the
world around you. A great
series to watch with your kids
is “How it’s made” on The
Science Channel through
your cable provider or shorter
versions on YouTube.
• Follow your child’s
lead. If he expresses an inter
est in something, help him
dive into it in more detail.
Use books, YouTube videos,
programs on the science or
history channels on TV, etc.
• Answer questions sim
ply and clearly and accord
ing to your child’s
development. You can also
answer a question with a
question.
An example might be
when your daughter asks
how rainbows are made. In
stead of telling her, ask her,
“How do you think they are
made?” then let her talk more
about it. You can then help
her find resources to help an
swer the question. Telling her
the answer closes off curios
ity when you are trying to
stimulate it.
• Stimulate your child
with open-ended questions.
Example: What makes the
rainforest and where are rain
forests located?
• Allow time for open-
ended activities. If your
child is really into whatever
he is exploring, let him con
tinue as long as his interest
prevails. By the same token,
don’t make him keep digging
in the weeds for information
if he has lost interest in the
subject. He may come back
to it later or find something
he likes even more. Let the
natural curiosity take over.
When your child asks you
a question, don’t immedi
ately answer. Encourage her
to find the answer herself
perhaps by saying, “I’m not
sure either. Why don’t we try
to find some answers to
gether?” Point her in an age-
appropriate direction such as
the Internet, the library, or a
documentary, to help her
build confidence by finding
answers on her own.
If kids maintain their cu
riosity as they grow, they will
ultimately become lifelong
learners. That curiosity will
prompt them to explore new
avenues for learning about
new topics and increase their
overall intelligence levels.
Those skills will serve them
well in their work and lives in
general.
[Mary Migliaro, M.Ed. is
an educator and Parent Men
tor. She may be contacted at
m arym igl iaro @a ol.com.]
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Corner of Hwy. 515 & Hidden Creek Road