COFFEE BREAK
B6 — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
THuRSDAY, MARCH 31, 2022
Imprisoned man worries his girlfriend is missing out
no matter what. That’s great, but
everyone around her is pregnant
and having babies, and Diana tells
me how much she wants another
baby. Is it selfish of me to allow her
to stick it out with me, knowing I
can’t give her what she wants? —
INSIDE IN CALIFORNIA
DEAR INSIDE: Diana is a
grown woman and capable of
making this decision for herself.
Just because “everyone around
her” is having babies doesn’t mean
she has to. If she wants to wait for
your release, she can have a child
with you at that time, and this is
what I am advising.
DEAR ABBY: I need some
help trying to save my marriage.
DEAR ABBY: I am a
26-year-old man, and I’m cur-
rently incarcerated. My girlfriend,
“Diana,” and I have been together
for four years. She has a 6-year-old
daughter, and I have a 7-year-old
son. Our kids are very close, and I
am also very close to her daughter.
I may be locked up for some
time. I have given Diana the option
of moving on without me, but
she says she doesn’t want to do
that. She is going to stay with me
tion skills with her help, if she is
willing. If her response is affirma-
tive, the two of you should seek a
referral to a licensed clinical social
worker or a licensed marriage and
family therapist to help you learn
to communicate with each other
more effectively.
DEAR ABBY: I love trains. I
can imitate a train whistle, and I
like doing it. I learned how to do
it about 10 years ago by listening
to trains whistle for many years.
I’m in my 30s now. I know there
are places I shouldn’t do it. Some
people I know like to hear me do
it anywhere. Others say I should
do it only outside. Still others say
don’t do it at all.
I don’t talk a lot in a relationship
or with other people. I am aware
that communication is important
in a relationship, but I never real-
ized how important it was until
my wife told me I don’t communi-
cate enough and we started talking
about divorce.
We have a 4-year-old, who I
think is the glue to our marriage.
I would like our marriage to last,
but I’m afraid ours is so far gone
it can’t be fixed. Could you please
help me try to save our marriage?
— HANGING IN THERE OUT
WEST
DEAR HANGING: Tell your
wife you love her and are willing
to work on your communica-
When I see and hear a train,
I will sometimes automatically
whistle. It’s not the best thing to
do, I suppose, but it’s not the worst
either. I don’t drink, smoke or
do drugs, and I’m fairly healthy.
What do you think of my imitating
a train whistle? Have you ever
heard of anyone doing this? —
WHISTLING IN WISCONSIN
DEAR WHISTLING: Con-
gratulations. Your letter is a first.
I have never heard of someone
imitating a train whistle who was
over the age of 8. I see no harm in
doing it as long as it doesn’t annoy
the people around you by star-
tling them or putting their hearing
at risk.
FDA OKs another Pfizer, Moderna COVID booster for 50 and up
By LAURAN NEERGAARD and
MATTHEW PERRONE
shot. The FDA said no new
safety concerns emerged in
a review of 700,000 fourth
doses administered.
Preliminary data posted
online last week sug-
gested some benefit: Israeli
researchers counted 92
deaths among more than
328,000 people who got
the extra shot, compared to
232 deaths among 234,000
people who skipped the
fourth dose.
What’s far from clear
is how long any extra ben-
efit from another booster
would last, and thus when
to get it.
“The ‘when’ is a really
difficult part. Ideally we
would time booster doses
right before surges but we
don’t always know when
that’s going to be,” said Dr.
William Moss, a vaccine
expert at the Johns Hop-
kins Bloomberg School of
Public Health.
Plus, a longer interval
between shots helps the
immune system mount a
stronger, more cross-reac-
tive defense.
“If you get a booster too
close together, it’s not doing
any harm — you’re just not
going to get much benefit
from it,” said Wherry.
The newest booster
expansion may not be
the last: Next week, the
government will hold a
public meeting to debate if
everyone eventually needs a
fourth dose, possibly in the
fall, of the original vaccine
or an updated shot.
As for updating vac-
cines, studies in people —
of omicron-targeted shots
alone or in combination
with the original vaccine —
are underway. The National
Institutes of Health recently
tested monkeys and found
“no significant advantage”
to using a booster that tar-
gets just omicron.
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — U.S. reg-
ulators on Tuesday, March
29, authorized another
COVID-19 booster for
people age 50 and older, a
step to offer extra protec-
tion for the most vulner-
able in case the coronavirus
rebounds.
The Food and Drug
Administration’s decision
opens a fourth dose of the
Pfizer or Moderna vaccines
to that age group at least
four months after their pre-
vious booster.
Until now, the FDA had
cleared fourth doses only
for people 12 and older
who have severely weak-
ened immune systems. The
agency said this especially
fragile group also can get
an additional booster, a fifth
shot.
The latest expansion,
regardless of people’s
health, allows an extra shot
to millions more Ameri-
cans — and the question is
whether everyone who’s eli-
gible should rush out and
get it. The Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention
is expected to weigh in.
Everyone eligible for
a first booster who hasn’t
gotten one yet needs to,
FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter
Marks said. But the second
booster is only for these
higher-risk groups because
“current evidence suggests
some waning of protection”
for them.
The move comes at a
time of great uncertainty.
COVID-19 cases have
dropped to low levels after
the winter surge of the
super-contagious omicron
variant. Two vaccine doses
plus a booster still provide
strong protection against
severe disease and death,
Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald, File
Packages of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine sit in cold storage Aug. 13, 2021, in the Cameron County Public Health’s pharmacy in San Benito,
Texas. The Food and Drug Administration has authorized another booster dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for people age 50
and up, Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
CDC data show.
But an omicron sibling is
causing a worrisome jump
in infections in Europe —
and spreading in the U.S.
— even as vaccination has
stalled. About two-thirds of
Americans are fully vacci-
nated, and half of those eli-
gible for a first booster hav-
en’t gotten one.
Pfizer had asked the
FDA to clear a fourth shot
for people 65 and older,
while Moderna requested
another dose for all adults
“to provide flexibility”
for the government to
decide who really needs
one. The FDA set age 50
as the threshold for both
companies. As for the
But while he encour-
ages older friends and rel-
atives to follow the advice,
the 50-year-old Wherry —
who is healthy, vaccinated
and boosted — doesn’t plan
on getting a fourth shot
right away. With protection
against severe illness still
strong, “I’m going to wait
until it seems like there’s a
need.”
None of the COVID-19
vaccines are as strong
against the omicron mutant
as they were against ear-
lier versions of the virus.
Also, protection against
milder infections natu-
rally wanes over time. But
the immune system builds
multiple layers of defense
immune-compromised,
only the Pfizer vaccine can
be used in those as young as
12; Moderna’s is for adults.
There’s limited evi-
dence to tell how much ben-
efit another booster could
offer right now. FDA made
the decision without input
from its independent panel
of experts that has wres-
tled with how much data is
required to expand shots.
“There might be a reason
to top off the tanks a little
bit” for older people and
those with other health con-
ditions, said University of
Pennsylvania immunolo-
gist E. John Wherry, who
wasn’t involved in the gov-
ernment’s decision.
weather
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and the type that prevents
severe illness and death is
holding up.
During the U.S. omi-
cron wave, two doses
were nearly 80% effective
against needing a ventilator
or death — and a booster
pushed that protection to
94%, the CDC recently
reported. Vaccine effective-
ness was lowest — 74% —
in immune-compromised
people, the vast majority of
whom hadn’t gotten a third
dose.
U.S. health officials also
looked to Israel, which
during the omicron surge
opened a fourth dose to
people 60 and older at least
four months after their last
AROUND OREGON AND THE REGION
Astoria
Longview
38/50
Kennewick
38/58
St. Helens
38/58
TIllamook
37/62
38/65
40/59
36/58
Condon
FRI
SAT
SUN
MON
Partly cloudy
Clouds and sun;
milder
Partly sunny
Mostly cloudy
Cloudy and
cooler
Baker City
23 58 35
Comfort Index™
La Grande
28 58 35
Comfort Index™
Enterprise
3
57 28
9
3
Comfort Index™
2
55 28
60 37
53 37
5
8
3
57 32
52 37
5
9
4
ALMANAC
NATION (for the 48 contiguous states)
High Tuesday
Low Tuesday
High: 97°
Low: -8°
Wettest: 1.68”
61°
36°
62°
39°
63°
41°
PRECIPITATION (inches)
0.00
0.28
0.71
0.67
2.00
0.00
0.51
1.60
2.38
4.50
0.04
1.64
2.10
7.19
7.71
AGRICULTURAL INFO.
HAY INFORMATION FRIDAY
Lowest relative humidity
Afternoon wind
Hours of sunshine
Evapotranspiration
30%
S at 6 to 12 mph
5.3
0.11
RESERVOIR STORAGE (through midnight Wednesday)
Phillips Reservoir
Unity Reservoir
Owyhee Reservoir
McKay Reservoir
Wallowa Lake
Thief Valley Reservoir
9% of capacity
60% of capacity
38% of capacity
70% of capacity
36% of capacity
90% of capacity
STREAM FLOWS (through midnight Tuesday)
Grande Ronde at Troy
5510 cfs
Thief Valley Reservoir near North Powder
1 cfs
Burnt River near Unity
6 cfs
Umatilla River near Gibbon
633 cfs
Minam River at Minam
534 cfs
Powder River near Richland
113 cfs
Zapata, Texas
Stambaugh, Mich.
Lawrence, Kan.
OREGON
High: 72°
Low: 27°
Wettest: Trace
Grants Pass
Klamath Falls
Brookings
Powers
37/60
On March 31, 1954, the mercury soared
to 108 degrees in Rio Grande City, Texas.
That represents the highest reading ever
recorded in the United States in March.
SUN & MOON
THU.
6:35 a.m.
7:19 p.m.
6:44 a.m.
6:55 p.m.
FRI.
6:33 a.m.
7:20 p.m.
7:03 a.m.
8:05 p.m.
MOON PHASES
New
Mar 31
First
Apr 8
Full
Apr 16
36/64
Last
Apr 23
Jordan Valley
26/57
Paisley
29/66
24/63
Frenchglen
28/60
35/72
Brookings
35/68
City
Astoria
Bend
Boise
Brookings
Burns
Coos Bay
Corvallis
Council
Elgin
Eugene
Hermiston
Hood River
Imnaha
John Day
Joseph
Kennewick
Klamath Falls
Lakeview
SAT.
Hi/Lo/W
50/41/c
64/34/pc
58/40/s
57/44/pc
60/31/pc
53/45/c
60/43/pc
52/33/pc
57/33/pc
61/44/pc
66/45/s
62/46/pc
58/40/pc
59/36/pc
55/34/pc
65/44/pc
64/28/s
65/29/s
Hi/Lo/W
54/40/pc
58/37/s
60/36/s
60/44/pc
60/25/s
56/40/pc
61/37/pc
53/29/pc
54/28/pc
62/39/pc
63/36/pc
61/40/pc
54/33/sh
56/32/pc
49/31/pc
64/35/pc
63/25/pc
63/25/pc
Grand View
Arock
29/61
27/60
29/61
Klamath Falls
23/64
Lakeview
23/65
McDermitt
Shown is Friday’s weather. Temperatures are Thursday night’s lows and Friday’s highs.
FRI.
Diamond
28/58
Fields
Medford
43/57
Boise
31/58
Silver Lake
Chiloquin
Grants Pass
28/61
23/65
27/60
RECREATION FORECAST FRIDAY
REGIONAL CITIES
WEATHER HISTORY
Sunrise
Sunset
Moonrise
Moonset
Beaver Marsh
Juntura
21/60
27/60
22/62
Roseburg
Ontario
32/62
Burns
Brothers
33/60
Coos Bay
Huntington
24/57
30/64
Oakridge
28/52
35/59
Seneca
Bend
Elkton
TUESDAY EXTREMES
TEMPERATURES Baker City La Grande Elgin
Tuesday
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Normal year to date
Florence
38/53
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.
30/59
28/63
Council
23/58
John Day
25/62
Sisters
37/61
50 28
26/58
Baker City
Redmond
38/53
Halfway
Granite
23/55
31/59
36/50
Eugene
3
28/62
34/60
Newport
36/61
8
10
Salem
Enterprise
24/56
28/58
Monument
34/65
Idanha
37/60
Corvallis
54 32
5
10
24 56 31
58 34
Elgin
25/57
La Grande
33/59
Maupin
TONIGHT
36/59
Pendleton
The Dalles
Portland
Newberg
35/58
Hood River
33/61
35/53
Lewiston
Walla Walla
34/65
Vancouver
37/59
Forecasts and graphics provided
by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
City
Lewiston
Longview
Meacham
Medford
Newport
Olympia
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Powers
Redmond
Roseburg
Salem
Spokane
The Dalles
Ukiah
Walla Walla
FRI.
SAT.
Hi/Lo/W
58/42/pc
58/44/r
58/34/pc
68/41/pc
50/41/c
55/40/c
62/39/pc
64/44/pc
61/42/pc
59/45/pc
60/42/c
62/30/pc
64/43/pc
60/42/pc
53/36/pc
65/47/pc
57/31/c
59/41/pc
Hi/Lo/W
59/35/pc
57/37/c
53/29/pc
68/40/c
52/40/pc
56/37/c
63/34/s
67/38/pc
60/35/pc
60/40/c
62/38/pc
60/29/s
65/39/pc
62/40/pc
54/35/sh
66/38/pc
52/30/sf
60/40/pc
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
Not as cold
Not as cool
36
23
56
35
MT. EMILY REC.
BROWNLEE RES.
Variable clouds
Partly sunny
45
29
59
37
EAGLE CAP WILD.
EMIGRANT ST. PARK
Mostly cloudy
Milder
41
26
53
28
WALLOWA LAKE
MCKAY RESERVOIR
Not as cool
Milder
55
34
60
41
THIEF VALLEY RES.
RED BRIDGE ST. PARK
Partly sunny
Milder
58
35
58
35