The San Francisco Public Health Department has begun to offer vaccines to people with disabilities, or those with qualifying health conditions which put them at a high risk for contracting or dying from COVID-19. On Monday, (03/15/2021) the State of California expanded its vaccine guidelines, which now allow anyone with a disability, ages 16-64, to get vaccinated. In the City of San Francisco, anyone who works in a homeless shelter, residential care and treatment facilities, or correctional facilities, can also receive the vaccine. These types of facilities are deemed high-risk congregate care facilities. People who are experiencing homelessness and plan to transition into congregate settings soon are also eligible to get the vaccine. But, the vaccine remains in short supply, despite this new expanded eligibility. Appointments for first vaccine doses are limited and people who are eligible may not be able to get appointments right away. In fact, healthcare providers are being advised to prioritize second dozes, in the coming weeks. There are options though. Those who are now eligible to be vaccinated can either ask their healthcare provider, or they can make an appointment at one of the City of San Francisco's public sites, which are listed at SF.gov/getvaccinated. While the City of San Francisco waits for more supply, you can sign up to get notified when it's your turn @ http://sf.gov/vaccinenotify. This link also includes guidance on making an appointment once you are eligible. Plus, the website can be translated into: Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino. Also, for those with disabilities, most walk-thru sites have drop-off zones and wheelchair accommodations available onsite. City-operated high volume sites (like Moscone Center, SF Market, City College) have video remote ASL interpreting capacity, as well. If you have any further questions about appointments or related information, contact the SF Department of Public Health, or visit: SF.govVaccinationWebsite.

Despite the rain this weekend, the weather was really nice, especially on Saturday. So, like many locals in the Bay Area, I headed out into the sunshine. Yes, we’re still in a pandemic. And, yes the City of San Francisco’s shelter-in-place order still remains in place. I think? But, hey, we’re all tired of being cooped up in the house. So, off I went to do my Saturday morning errands. With my ever so popular “surgical mask,” along with a face shield and my trusty pair of rubber gloves, I headed downtown to run a few errands. But, what I ran into was a rally. A noisy, pretty large and loud PRO-LIFE rally. It was smack in the middle of Market Street! What caught my attention first was the police escort. Although it was a peaceful rally, it was a very noisy one. I could hear someone on a megaphone screaming at the top of his lungs leading the crowd in chants. You could hear the crowd chanting for blocks. Did I say it was a nice size crowd? At least 200 people of all ages, sexes and races. But, aren’t we in a pandemic? To make matters worse, everyone in the crowd, walking, chanting and carrying signs that read, “REMEMBER THE UNBORN,” or “PEACE BEGINS IN THE WOMB,” was walking shoulder to shoulder. There was NO social distancing and some of the protestors weren’t even wearing a mask. So, of course, I took pictures because I couldn’t believe it. What disturbed me more than the police stopping traffic to escort the group right down the middle of Market street, was the fact that there were many children in the group of protestors, as well. And, some of those kids, who in my opinion shouldn’t have even been there, didn’t have on a mask. I thought to myself, are these some of the same children that might be heading back to the classroom soon, if some parents and the San Francisco Unified School District decides to return to in-person classrooms this year? If so, I’m very concerned for teachers and other students whose parents are smart enough NOT to expose their kids to a public rally where there’s no social-distancing or masks worn by everyone. To make matters worse, when I got home that evening, I saw on the news that there was another rally that same day. This one was at the Chinese Consulate and at this rally, anit-racism protestors actually clashed with Police. Fortunately, there were no kids there. But, local TV stations reported that several people were arrested. Apparently, these protestors believed that the Proud Boys were in town and were headed to the Chinese Consulate to protest. So, these protestors showed up and ended up clashing with police instead of the Proud Boys, because the white supremacists group wasn’t even there. Scenes at both rallies got me thinking. What issue is so important that we have to ignore the social distancing recommendations by local, state and federal authorities, and gather in large groups at a rally, during a pandemic? Be it white supremacist, gun control, pro-life, and yes, even Black Lives Matter, I don’t think it’s worth risking our health, especially our children’s health, to be a part of a large crowd. And, if we must take part in these types of activities during a pandemic, then we must wear a mask and social distance. With more than 400,000 deaths in America alone right now, and the number of available hospital beds dwindling every day, people are still refusing to wear a mask and stay out of crowds. And, I don’t get it. Is it because of the mixed messages we’ve been getting over the past year from our former President and his entire administration? Or is it just because people don’t believe COVID-19 is real. But, the latest statistics from the CDC tells us that this month in California alone, more than 2,100 people have lost their lives to COVID-19. And, even though the number of deaths across the country is decreasing, people continue to die from the disease every day. So, for the next time the weather is nice and I want to head out into the city, I’ll head to my rooftop instead and lay out in one of the lawn chairs and pretend I’m on an exotic island sipping a cool one. That’s at least until the new administration has kicked COVID-19’s butt and vaccinated the masses. Well, one can only continue to dream.

Voters in Nevada and three other states (California, Massachusetts and Arizona) cast their ballots on Election day in support of legalizing marijuana. In Nevada, Question 2 passed by six points, in early voting. According to the Las Vegas Sun, the new measure allows for the legal purchase of up to 1 ounce of marijuana, and recreational users can also buy marijuana paraphernalia such as bongs and glass pipes in the state of Nevada. “All I know is that it’s going to be positive for decriminalizing the plant and it’s going to generate tax revenue for the state,” said Armen Yemenidjian, president and CEO of the three Essence Cannabis Dispensaries in the Las Vegas Valley. “It’s a win-win."

Ten protestors were arrested at Heathrow International Airport on Friday for chaining themselves together and blocking traffic at Great Britain’s largest airport, according to London’s Metropolitan Police. Similar Black Lives Matter protests in Nottingham and Birmingham ended in four arrests, a spokesperson for Nottingham Police told CNN. "So this demonstration comes after a decade-long struggle and it's to highlight what's happening," Black Lives Matter UK spokeswoman Wail Qasim, 23, told CNN.

The number of people stricken with the Zika virus, in the U.S., has reached more than 4,000 cases this year. (CDC, 2016) And, according to the Centers for Disease Control, 139 of those Zika related infections were locally transmitted, which was not the case just a few months. (Greenblatt, A., 2016). “Zika is very much on the move,” Donald G. McNeil Jr., a New York Times global health reporter, writes in his new book about the disease. Most of the people in the United States who’ve been infected with the virus were traveling to countries like Puerto Rico, Brazil, or other Caribbean and Latin American countries, which have been hardest-hit by the mosquito-borne virus. (CDC, 2016)

On Election Night 2016, millions of Americans, especially Democrats, were awestruck as ballot results came in from across the country showing that Billionaire Donald Trump was leading former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Electoral College votes, and would go on to win the Presidential election. But, no one was probably more shocked and disappointed by Clinton’s loss of the 2016 Presidential race than those who spent tireless hours working for the Clinton campaign. Matt Rogers, from Fresno, California was one of Clinton’s campaign volunteers. “I worked with Hillary’s campaign in 2008, and really wanted to see her win that year. But, it wasn’t her time,” Rogers said in an interview on election night. Over the past eight years, Rogers has traveled all along the west coast, Midwest and deep south campaigning for Hillary Clinton. “I’d tape Hillary stickers all over my car, walk thru neighborhoods and make thousands of calls to potential voters urging them to vote for Hillary Clinton.

A Dunwoody doctor's office is shut down on Wednesday and the doctor, his medical assistant and two patients are arrested. Authorities say it's part of an investigation into a possible pill mill at the doctor's office, located at 11 Dunwoody Park, in Atlanta. Chuvalo J. Trusdale, Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency tells WSB, "We developed information about this illegal prescribing practices of a Dr. Nisar Piracha at the Dunwoody Park Office where officials served a search warrant and arrest warrants on Wednesday." Agent Trusdale says during the raid, two patients were also arrested. One of the patients was from Kentucky. "Every time we go to one of these locations there are patients there to be seen and often time they'll have drug paraphernalia and other things. And, so from interacting with the patients that led to two additional arrests," says Trusdale. Others who work in the same business complex (11 Dunwoody Park, Atlanta) say they noticed lots of traffic in and out of the doctor’s office and suspected it might have been a possible pill mill. Ivone Paris, who works in the Dunwoody Business Park tells Channel 2 Action News, "They were never anything but nice to us, the doctors and the girls, but we were always suspicious that something was going on." Dr. Piracha's Medical offices will remain shut down indefinitely, says Agent Trusdale.

Five women, who were robbed at gunpoint on Thursday night, had all of their belongings returned to them, thanks to a stolen IPHONE. The women were robbed in the drive-way of the Biltmore Hotel (50 5th Street, N.E). But, none of the women were hurt. Atlanta Police Department Officer Kim Jones tells WSB that the APD was able to track one of the women's stolen IPHONE thru the phone’s tracking device.