A18
NEWS
Blue Mountain Eagle
Variant
Wednesday, May 5, 2021
GRANT COUNTY
COVID-19 UPDATE
Continued from Page A1
would work against the vari-
ants. However, he said, the data
over the last couple of months
has been “quite reassuring”
surrounding the eﬀ ectiveness
of immunizations against the
variants.
He said variants now account
for a signiﬁ cant portion of infec-
tions and vaccinations remain
the “best tool” to control the
pandemic.
“Generally, the vaccine will
still be eﬀ ective against B.1.526
since the immune system pro-
duces many diﬀ erent antibodies
as well as T cells that recognize
the virus,” West said.
Dr. Jeremy Kamil, an asso-
ciate professor of Microbiology
and Immunology at Louisiana
State University Health Shreve-
port, said it is crucial to be mind-
ful of “over-interpreting” the
emergence of a variant.
Virus variants are a signif-
icant public health concern,
but viruses continually change.
As a result, new variants have
developed and disseminated
internationally throughout the
pandemic.
Researchers have been
studying the genetic material
of the virus to see how it might
be changing. For example, they
analyze genetic sequences of
viruses taken from a small pro-
portion of infected people to
chart the appearance of new
versions.
Kamil said most variants
are meaningless, but others can
make things much worse by
spreading and making people
sicker.
“When you add natu-
ral selection to the mix, what
nature does is something that is
by accident an advantage,” he
said. “Then Darwin tells us that
selection can operate on those
advantages.”
Kamil said the advantage
could be an “epidemiologi-
cal event” where someone is
infected by a virus with a series
of mutations that make it more
transmissible and spreads the
mutated virus to people, who
spread it to others.
“So there’s a variant
that just increases abun-
dance by chance,” he said.
Grant County Health De-
partment reported a total of
22 new COVID-19 infections
in the past week.
The county’s total number
of vaccinations 4,010, ac-
cording to a Sunday press
release from the health
department. Kimberly
Lindsay, the county’s public
health administrator, said
Monday was the county’s
last “mass” vaccine clinic.
The county’s hospitaliza-
tions in region seven, which
it shares with Deschutes,
Harney, Klamath, Jefferson,
Klamath, Lake and Wheeler
counties, has nine ICU and
50 non-ICU beds available.
Oregon Health and Science
will offer a testing event
from 2-7 p.m. Friday at the
county fairgrounds parking
lot. The test is by appoint-
ment, and appointments
can be made online at
www.ohsu.edu/COVIDVans.
The OHSU website notes
that people must wait
seven days or longer to get
another test if they do not
have symptoms and test
negative. Those who have
tested positive in the past
and did not have symptoms
must wait 90 days or longer
before getting another test.
Those without internet
access can schedule an
appointment by calling
503-494-4911 from 8:30 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Mondays through
Fridays.
“They got lucky.”
Kamil said there is a virtual
“zero chance” the vaccine will
fail. He said the immune system
is multi-layered
He said the immune system
gets a “head start” when the vac-
cine is in play.
“It’s much better if the police
have a blurry mugshot of the
criminal than if they have no
picture at all,” he said. “Sure, it
might take the cops a little lon-
ger to catch a criminal that’s
wearing a wig, fake mustache
and sunglasses. But they’re
going to catch him in a couple
of blocks.”
The Eagle/Steven Mitchell
Grant County resident Rex Blackstone questions County Judge Scott Myers as to why he could not have his sign in the courtroom.
Frustration
Continued from Page A1
sick, but suggested it is on par
with the common cold or ﬂ u.
However, in the U.S., the
Centers for Disease Control
reports the ﬂ u only claims
between 12,000 to a maxi-
mum of 61,000 lives each
year.
Dr. Anthony West, a
senior research specialist at
the California Institute of
Technology, said in an email
Sunday that a clear indicator
that COVID-19 is not like
the common cold or ﬂ u is the
repeated episodes of hospi-
tals becoming overwhelmed
by people with COVID-19
that have severe symptoms.
Andrew Pekosz, Ph.D., a
leading virologist who works
on both the ﬂ u and COVID-
19 at Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity, told the Eagle that
COVID-19 is much worse
than the ﬂ u “in almost every
parameter of comparison.”
The coronavirus, he pointed
out, has killed more Ameri-
cans in about a year than the
ﬂ u has in over ﬁ ve years.
He said a lack of preex-
isting immunity to the virus,
compared to the ﬂ u, also
makes COVID-19 a more
signiﬁ cant burden on the
population. Additionally, the
long-term eﬀ ects outpace
the ﬂ u as well. Those eﬀ ects
include shortness of breath,
trouble focusing and kidney
and heart problems, he said.
Newman also suggested
the ﬂ u was being misdiag-
nosed as COVID-19 and
asked what happened to the
ﬂ u this year.
In 2021, health oﬃ cials
estimate the U.S. has only
seen upwards of 900 cases
this year as of January.
However, Eili Klein,
Ph.D., associate profes-
sor of emergency medicine
at the Johns Hopkins Uni-
versity School of Medicine,
said the signiﬁ cant decrease
in ﬂ u cases this year is proof
the safety measures to curb
COVID-19 work. In a press
release, he said that physical
distancing, masks and hand-
washing have slowed the
transmission of the ﬂ u.
Politics, polarization
and sorting out the facts
Newman said he is an
Independent when it comes
to political aﬃ liations and
that the country has become
more and more divided sur-
rounding COVID-19. He
said, while he will not get
the COVID-19 vaccine, he is
not an “anti-vaxxer” against
all vaccinations.
He said politics did not
drive his reasons for appear-
ing before the court. Instead,
he told the Eagle the lock-
downs have contributed to
the “erosion of people’s con-
stitutional rights.”
“It’s not Democrat or
Republican thing in any way,
shape, form or fashion,” he
said.
He told the Eagle that sim-
ple, straightforward informa-
tion is what earns his trust in
the sources he reads when it
comes to research, news and
information in general.
Newman said 90% of peo-
ple have made up their minds
about what they believe when
it comes to COVID-19.
“You’re not going to
change anyone’s mind,” he
said. “The other 10% have
their head in the sand.”
Kamil said people of par-
ticular “political leanings”
feel that scientists are trying
to shut down society.
“It’s quite the oppo-
site,” he said. “The scientists
largely do not want to shut
things down.”
Kamil said people should
seek out their own sources for
information, but think crit-
ically about the source and
ensure it is one that is reliable.
“Be conscious about
where your risk is at,” he
said. “Don’t make it politi-
cal, because the virus doesn’t
care what political party you
are, what you think about
politics. It’ll kill you just the
same, especially if you’re not
vaccinated.”
Lake Creek Camp
Would Like to Thank the Many Donors and
Volunteers Who Made this Fundraiser Possible
REPORTER
The Blue
Blue Mountain
Mountain
Eagle,
a family-owned
newspaper
in a
The
Eagle,
a family-owned
weekly weekly
newspaper
in a stunningly
stunningly
beautiful
Oregon
community,
seeks
an
energetic,
dedi-
beautiful Oregon community, seeks an energetic, dedicated reporter.
cated reporter.
The
in John
Day, Day,
where
seeing seeing
deer in deer
front in
yards
is normal
The Eagle
Eagle is is located
located
in John
where
front
yards
and
traffic
is
unheard
of,
just
three
hours
from
Bend
and
Pendleton.
is normal and traffic is unheard of, just three hours from Bend and
Surrounded
by scenic forests
and dissected
by mountain
the
Pendleton.
Surrounded
by scenic
forests and
dissected streams,
by mountain
location
offers
year-round
recreational
opportunities,
including
fishing,
streams, the location offers year-round recreational opportunities,
hunting, fishing,
backpacking,
camping,
snowmobiling
and horseback
riding. and
including
hunting,
backpacking,
camping,
snowmobiling
horseback riding.
Despite the picturesque environment, the community is at the center of an
Despite
picturesque
environment,
the community
is at the cen-
evolving the
natural
resource restoration
economy,
which gains statewide
and
ter of an evolving natural
resource
restoration
economy,
which gains
even national attention.
statewide and even national attention.
Despite the
the small-town
small-town charm,
residents
are are
engaged
and and
politically
Despite
charm, the
the
residents
engaged
politi-
active
in local in
and
national
debates, debates,
and hard-hitting
stories are never
hard
cally active
local
and national
and hard-hitting
stories
are to
never
hard to topics
find. include
Ongoing
topics
include
state and
federal
find.
Ongoing
state
and federal
policies,
forest
health, policies,
logging,
forest lands
health,
logging,
water supply,
public
grazing,
water public
supply, lands
wildlife grazing,
habitat improvements
and wildlife
wildfire
habitat
improvements
wildfire
resilience, life
in and
addition
to coverage
resilience,
in addition to and
coverage
of small-town
local government.
of
small-town
life a and
local of government.
offers
a wealth
The
position offers
wealth
breaking news The
and position
enterprise
opportunities.
of breaking news and enterprise opportunities.
Serving the
the community
community for
150
years,
the the
Eagle
is the
oldest
Serving
for more
more than
than
150
years,
Eagle
is the
old-
weekly
newspaper
in
Oregon
and
is
part
of
EO
Media
Group,
an
award-
est weekly newspaper in Oregon and is part of EO Media Group,
winning
and innovative
organization
an active family
owners.
an
award-winning
and news
innovative
news with
organization
with of an
active
This
position
offers
excellent
advancement
opportunities
in
a
company
family of owners. This position offers excellent advancement that
op-
prefers to hire
within. that
EO Media
Group
owns
14 newspapers
and
portunities
in a from
company
prefers
to hire
from
within. EO Media
journals
that provide
accurate, fair
and
timely reporting
about accurate,
the people fair
and
Group owns
13 newspapers
and
journals
that provide
the about
communities
we serve
in the Pacific
Northwest,
and issues
timely impacting
reporting
the people
and issues
impacting
the com-
reflecting
and spirit reflecting
of a free press.
munities we
serve in the
the responsibility
Pacific Northwest,
the responsibil-
ity and spirit of a free press.
We seek a journalist who is passionate about local news and excited about
We seek a journalist who is passionate about local news and excited
the opportunity to publish in print, online and through social media.
about the opportunity to publish in print, online and through social
Candidates must be able to develop story ideas, take photographs, develop
media. Candidates must be able to develop story ideas, take photo-
sources,
prepare
website
and social
media and
updates
work updates
in a
graphs,
develop
sources,
prepare
website
social and
media
cooperative
team
environment.
Journalistic
integrity
is
a
must.
and work in a cooperative team environment. Journalistic integrity
is Journalism
a must. education or experience is required for this full-time position
Journalism
education
or experience
is required
for
offering insurances,
a 401(k)/401(k)
Roth retirement
plan
and this
paid full-time
time off
(37.5
hours
per
week)
position.
Benefits
include
health
insurances,
(PTO). Send resume, letter of interest and up to five clips to EO Media Group,
paid P.O.
time
off,
and Salem,
a 401(k)/401(k)Roth
plan.
To apply,
Box
2048,
OR 97308-2048; retirement
by fax to (503)
371-2935
go to  https://eomediagroup.applicantpro.com/jobs/,
and
upload
re-
or by email to hr@eomediagroup.com.
sume, letter of interest and three or more clips.
Special Thanks To
Shawna Clark and Canyon Creek Clinic for Announcing
Carson McKay for volunteering to be our auctioneer
Grant Union FFA for setting up, serving, and cleanup
Lenny and Sherri Dowdy for cooking the meat
Live Auction Items
Rude Logging
John Day Polaris
Sharon Mitchell
Anthony Lakes
JD True Value
Prairie City FFA
Crown Cattle Co
Land Title of Grant County
Russel’s Custom meats
JD Rents
The Retreat, Links, and spa and
Silvies Valley Ranch for multiple
donations and continued support
Sporting Collectibles by Was-
ser’s Live Auction Inc, Dallas
OR for multiple doations in-
cluding a rifle
Guns and Ammo
Old West FCU donated his and
hers pistols
Iron Triangle donated the rifle
for the card game
Lindsey Madden
Wasser Agency
Mark and Carrie Smith
Wildhorse
Greg and Melody Jackson
Mobile Glass
Bank of Eastern Oregon
Ed Staub and sons
Blue Mountain Hospital
The Rimers Family for helping
with the event
Ace donated ammo, and al-
ways discounts merchandise
Cash Donations
1st Choice Auto Body
Gardner Enterprises
Elliot Sky
Jerome Natural
Consultants
Resource
Flora Cheadle
Nick Redding
Shanna Redding
Dan and Kathy Bishop
Jan O’Rorke
L & L Excavating
Billy & Lori Hickerson
Deforest and Wanda Ballard
Stanbro Ranch
Rimers Family
Baskets and Gift Certificates
State Farm Insurance
Velvet Touch
Clinton and Tessa Coalwell
Pioneer Feed
Better Blooms
Snaffel Bit
HECS
Cloud 9
RMEF-Bend
Grant County Fairgrounds
Bar WB
RMEF-Grant County
OMSI
Mobile Station
Huffmans
1188 Brewing
Sinclair
Holliday Land and Livestock
Benchmark Land Surveying
John Day Golf Club
Shawn and Tia Skidgel
Hair it is
Naked Winery
Les Schwab
Callie Moss
H & R Block
Larry Neugart
Robbie and Tammy Rude
Tobe and Janet Zweygardt
Dave and Krista Gehley
Kicks Sports
Shannon Voigt Construction
John and Lindy Bastian
Prairie City Ranger District
Stan and Karen Kunzman
Andy’s Plumbing
Glenn and Rosanne Palmer
Bob and Deloris Bagette
Claire Kehrberg
Body Fitness & Dance
Mark and Lucie Immoos
Cyndie Diggins
Outpost
Carol Waggoner
Sharon Mitchell
Jolene Floyd
Dayville Café
Krista Gehley
Callie Moss
Carol Voight
Shannon Springer
Desserts
Board
195 N. Canyon Blvd.
John Day, Oregon
Aimee Rude, Krista Gehley, Mike and Shannon Springer
Glenn and Rosanne Palmer, and Carol Waggoner
S241539-1
Staff
Chef Jeff, Marcia Kaufman,
Michael Sheppard
and Spitfire Cocktails
S241909-1