COFFEE BREAK
B6 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2022
Mom-friends take diff erent paths in providing for kids
for her birthday, Christmas, etc.,
Ashley buys the same thing for
Mimi. I got my daughter into
ice skating three years ago.
Ashley then proceeded to buy her
daughter professional ice skates,
accessories, skating costumes,
private lessons and entered
her in skate club, shows and
competitions.
Needless to say, my daughter
is sometimes jealous of all the
things Mimi gets. For me, it’s not
about the money. It’s the prin-
ciple that I’m not going to spoil
my daughter like that. I remind
my daughter she’s still more for-
tunate than a lot of other children
and she should appreciate what
she has.
DEAR ABBY: I met my
friend “Ashley” and her daughter
three years ago. Our daughters
are 9 years old. Ashley makes
good money and is married. I’m
a single mom. I do well as a reg-
istered nurse, but I’m not on her
level when it comes to money.
We all get along great and
have a lot in common. How-
ever, Ashley buys her daughter,
“Mimi,” a lot. Every time we go
out, she buys Mimi something.
If I buy a gift for my daughter
Should I cut ties with Ashley?
Should I mention my concerns
to her? Or are my daughter and I
overreacting? — DOING WELL
ENOUGH
DEAR DOING WELL: I
don’t think you or your daughter
are overreacting. In life, you —
and she — will always encounter
people who have more material
things than you. (The reverse may
also be true.) Because this is hap-
pening regularly, I can see why
your daughter feels as she does.
If it happened occasionally, I
might respond diff erently, but you
wrote that this is a frequent occur-
rence. A conversation with Ashley
is in order. If your relationship
survives the conversation, con-
sider socializing with her but
doing your gift-buying privately.
DEAR ABBY: My mother
and I have never had the best rela-
tionship. It has only gotten worse
since my dad passed in 2020,
followed by my brother, who
passed in 2021. My uncle, Mom’s
younger brother, also passed in
2021. My problem is that Mom
acts like I have no right to grieve.
This is all her grief and HER
pain — she has actually told me
as much. She has said, more than
once, that she doesn’t know why I
bother to get so upset.
I’m seeing a counselor, but
I’m having a hard time for-
giving her behavior. I lost my
father and my brother! Worse,
she tells her friends I don’t
care about these losses. Please
advise. — GRIEVING AND
HEARTBROKEN
DEAR GRIEVING: Con-
tinue talking with your coun-
selor not only about your deep
sense of grief over the loss of
your dad and your brother, but
also about your relationship with
your mother. Not knowing her,
I cannot decide whether she is
deep into her own grief or simply
so deep into herself that she
can’t relate to you. I am sorry
you didn’t mention your age or
whether you live with her, but
it’s important that you work on
becoming, at the very least, emo-
tionally independent from her.
As ‘stealth omicron’ advances, scientists are learning more
weeks earlier.
In the United States,
BA.2 caused about 4%
of COVID cases during
the week ending Feb. 19,
according to the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention. The percentage
was lower in some regions
and higher in others – hit-
ting about 7% in New
England.
By LAURA UNGAR
The Associated Press
HOUSTON — The
coronavirus mutant widely
known as “stealth omicron”
is now causing more than a
third of new omicron cases
around the world, but sci-
entists still don’t know how
it could aff ect the future of
the pandemic.
Researchers are slowly
revealing clues about the
strain, a descendant of omi-
cron known as BA.2, while
warily watching it become
ever more prevalent.
“We’re all keeping an
eye on BA.2 just because it
has done particularly well
in some parts of the world,”
including parts of Asia,
Africa and Europe, said Dr.
Wesley Long, a patholo-
gist at Houston Methodist
in Texas.
This week, a technical
advisory group for the
World Health Organiza-
tion advised public health
authorities to monitor it as
a distinct omicron strain.
Early research sug-
gests it spreads faster than
the original omicron and
in rare cases can sicken
people even if they’ve
What’s known
BA.2 has lots of muta-
tions. It’s been dubbed
“stealth” because it lacks a
genetic quirk of the orig-
inal omicron that allowed
health offi cials to rapidly
diff erentiate it from delta
using a certain PCR test.
So while the test can detect
a BA.2 infection, it looks
like a delta infection.
Initial research suggests
BA.2 is more transmissible
than the original omicron
— about 30% more conta-
gious by one estimate.
But vaccines can protect
people from getting sick.
Scientists in the United
Kingdom found that they
provide the same level of
protection from both types
of omicron.
A bout with the original
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/Contributed Photo, File
This 2020 electron microscope image made available by the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows a Novel Corona-
virus SARS-CoV-2 particle isolated from a patient, in a laboratory in
Fort Detrick, Md. The coronavirus mutant widely known as stealth
omicron is now causing more than a third of new omicron cases
around the world. But scientists still don’t know how it could aff ect
the future of the pandemic.
Worldwide spread
already had an omicron
infection. There’s mixed
research on whether it
causes more severe dis-
ease, but vaccines appear
just as eff ective against it.
Overall cases are falling
in some places where the
variant is becoming more
prevalent, off ering some
hope that the latest trou-
bling version of the virus
won’t send cases skyrock-
eting again as experts try
to learn more.
BA.2 has been found in
more than 80 countries and
all 50 U.S. states.
In a recent report, the
WHO said BA.2 was dom-
inant in 18 countries and it
represented about 36% of
sequenced omicron cases
submitted in the most
recent week to a publicly
available international
database where scientists
share coronavirus data.
That’s up from 19% two
weather
| Go to AccuWeather.com
Does BA.2 make you
sicker?
A Japanese lab study
suggests that it could,
based on experiments with
hamsters. Researchers con-
cluded that the risk for
global health “is poten-
tially higher” from BA.2
and proposed that it be
given its own Greek letter
– a designation for glob-
ally signifi cant “variants of
AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION
Astoria
Longview
44/51
Kennewick
41/51
St. Helens
39/53
33/50
Condon
34/48
40/53
A bit of late-
night snow
A rain or snow
shower
Baker City
La Grande
0
21 40 28
Comfort Index™
2
44 28
Eugene
0
2
1
42/58
39 36
48 38
51 34
0
3
4
54 32
52 36
1
4
5
1
TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin
NATION (for the 48 contiguous states)
High Thursday
Low Thursday
High: 89°
Low: -44°
Wettest: 2.15”
27°
9°
27°
8°
26°
9°
PRECIPITATION (inches)
Thursday
Trace
Month to date
Trace
Normal month to date 0.51
Year to date
0.38
Normal year to date
1.21
0.01
0.58
1.05
1.85
2.72
0.03
1.46
2.01
5.39
5.28
AGRICULTURAL INFO.
HAY INFORMATION SUNDAY
45%
S at 8 to 16 mph
8.3
0.07
RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Friday)
Phillips Reservoir
Unity Reservoir
Owyhee Reservoir
McKay Reservoir
Wallowa Lake
Thief Valley Reservoir
3% of capacity
33% of capacity
23% of capacity
42% of capacity
26% of capacity
50% of capacity
STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Thursday)
Grande Ronde at Troy
1440 cfs
Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder
1 cfs
Burnt River near Unity
7 cfs
Umatilla River near Gibbon
171 cfs
Minam River at Minam
124 cfs
Powder River near Richland
43 cfs
Fort Myers, Fla.
Seagull Lake, Minn.
Oak Ridge, Tenn.
OREGON
High: 52°
Low: 0°
Wettest: 0.05”
Brookings
Antelope
Pendleton
WEATHER HISTORY
A dam in Buffalo Creek, W.Va., gave way
on Feb. 26, 1972, after rain and melting
snow increased the water level. It killed
125 people.
SUN & MOON
SAT.
Sunrise
Sunset
Moonrise
Moonset
6:36 a.m.
5:35 p.m.
4:23 a.m.
12:41 p.m.
SUN.
6:34 a.m.
5:36 p.m.
5:17 a.m.
1:55 p.m.
MOON PHASES
New
Mar 2
First
Mar 10
Full
Mar 17
Beaver Marsh
Powers
48/58
Last
Mar 24
44/60
Silver Lake
Jordan Valley
19/46
Paisley
27/54
30/53
Frenchglen
29/51
36/62
Klamath Falls
30/54
21/40
Lakeview
25/50
McDermitt
20/48
RECREATION FORECAST SUNDAY
REGIONAL CITIES
MON.
City
Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W
Astoria
51/47/r 52/45/r
Bend
56/42/c 63/47/r
Boise
43/24/c 51/33/c
Brookings
56/47/c 56/49/r
Burns
46/25/c 49/33/i
Coos Bay
57/48/r 56/49/r
Corvallis
55/45/r 57/49/r
Council
35/19/c 35/28/sn
Elgin
40/25/c 41/39/sh
Eugene
58/49/r 59/49/r
Hermiston
51/33/i 55/45/sh
Hood River
50/38/sn 47/42/sh
Imnaha
43/34/sf 46/42/sh
John Day
46/35/c 50/40/r
Joseph
39/29/c 43/36/sh
Kennewick
51/31/c 51/40/sh
Klamath Falls 54/26/c 57/31/sh
Lakeview
50/28/c 55/35/c
Grand View
Arock
18/46
24/51
Shown is Sunday’s weather. Temperatures are Saturday night’s lows and Sunday’s highs.
SUN.
Diamond
26/48
Fields
Medford
Brookings
Boise
19/43
44/62
46/56
23/42
25/53
Chiloquin
Grants Pass
Juntura
20/46
31/49
28/49
Roseburg
Ontario
22/42
Burns
Brothers
41/57
Coos Bay
Huntington
22/45
37/56
Oakridge
8/35
19/39
Seneca
Bend
Elkton
THURSDAY EXTREMES
ALMANAC
Lowest relative humidity
Afternoon wind
Hours of sunshine
Evapotranspiration
Florence
46/57
Comfort Index takes into account how the weather will feel based on a combination of factors. A rating of 10 feels
very comfortable while a rating of 0 feels very uncomfortable.
28/46
36/56
Council
16/32
John Day
33/56
Sisters
45/59
44 36
14/33
Baker City
Redmond
47/55
Halfway
Granite
20/37
40/53
40/57
45/53
40 30
0
29/53
38/55
Newport
36 27
0
28 38 28
Comfort Index™
Enterprise
0
Cloudy with a
shower
Corvallis
Enterprise
21/40
28/38
Monument
32/54
Idanha
Salem
WED
A few afternoon Rain and drizzle
showers
16 32 19
Comfort Index™
TUE
Elgin
25/40
La Grande
28/52
Maupin
MON
28/48
Pendleton
The Dalles
Portland
Newberg
37/58
Lewiston
28/46
Hood River
27/51
44/55
SUN
Forecasts and graphics provided
by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Walla Walla
26/51
Vancouver
37/52
TIllamook
TONIGHT
concern.” WHO’s technical
group said BA.2 should
remain under the omicron
umbrella.
Though the severity
experiments were con-
ducted in animals, the
study is “not something
to discount,” said Dr. Eric
Topol of Scripps Research
Translational Institute.
“We should keep an open
mind and keep assessing
this.”
But scientists are
fi nding something dif-
ferent when they look at
people. An initial analysis
in Denmark showed no
diff erences in hospitaliza-
tions for BA.2 compared
with the original omicron,
which tends to generally
cause milder disease than
the delta variant. More
recently, researchers in
South Africa found much
the same: a similar risk of
hospitalization and severe
disease with the original
omicron variant and BA.2.
“We always have to
interpret studies in ani-
mals with caution,”
Long said. “I place more
weight in studies of actual
patients and what they’re
experiencing.”
omicron also seems to pro-
vide “strong protection”
against reinfection with
BA.2, according to early
studies cited by the WHO.
But getting BA.2 after
infection from the original
omicron strain is possible,
says new research out of
Denmark. Study authors
noted 187 total reinfec-
tions, including 47 with
BA.2 occurring shortly
after a bout the original
strain, mostly in young,
unvaccinated people with
mild disease. They con-
cluded that such reinfec-
tions do occur but are rare.
Like other early studies
on BA.2, this one has
been posted online but not
reviewed by independent
scientists.
City
Lewiston
Longview
Meacham
Medford
Newport
Olympia
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Powers
Redmond
Roseburg
Salem
Spokane
The Dalles
Ukiah
Walla Walla
SUN.
MON.
Hi/Lo/W
46/36/sh
51/49/r
39/26/c
62/38/r
53/48/r
51/43/r
42/25/c
51/32/c
51/38/c
53/48/r
58/51/r
56/39/c
60/50/r
57/48/r
38/33/sn
48/37/sn
46/32/c
48/38/c
Hi/Lo/W
46/42/r
54/52/r
40/36/sh
65/44/r
52/45/r
52/44/r
45/33/sn
48/40/sh
58/52/c
55/51/r
58/50/r
61/43/r
62/52/r
59/52/r
41/38/sn
49/41/sh
48/40/sh
50/45/sh
Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice
ANTHONY LAKES
PHILLIPS LAKE
A little snow
A little a.m. snow
24
19
36
19
MT. EMILY REC.
BROWNLEE RES.
A snow shower
Cloudy and chilly
32
29
38
24
EAGLE CAP WILD.
EMIGRANT ST. PARK
A little snow
Rain/snow shower
28
20
38
25
WALLOWA LAKE
MCKAY RESERVOIR
Rain/snow shower
Warmer
39
29
52
39
THIEF VALLEY RES.
RED BRIDGE ST. PARK
A snow shower
Rain/snow shower
32
19
Veterans Appreciation Day
at Anthony Lakes
Complementary skiing for Veterans and their families
February 28, 2022
Details at AnthonyLakes.com
38
28