With the third Covid-19 vaccine approved by the FDA, there has been a great of talk comparing “vaccine efficacy” rates. You may be trying to figure out what all of this means? What is “vaccine efficacy” and can we use it to compare the different vaccines? Well, this NY Times article “What Do Vaccine Efficacy Numbers Actually Mean?”really helps. Ihttps://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/03/03/science/vaccine-efficacy-coronavirus.html?smid=url-sharet offers some clear explanations.
“Headaches, anxiety and exhaustion caused by screen time that never ends is not just for adults anymore.”
A CNN study showed 80 percent of teenagers check their phones on the hour, and 72 percent need to respond to their messages right away. Teens also preferred texting rather than speaking and often used a device to “save and protect” them from social interactions. Harvard research in 2019 revealed that too much screen time can “interfere with sleep and creativity.” It is not only teenagers–have you felt compelled to leave your phone at home or feel a sense of terror, or relief, when you did? Do you purposefully move your phone across the room or turn it off to get away? Are you exhausted, easily distracted and constantly multi-tasking online and in “real life”?
Take a break says Dr. Michael Rich who also suggests:
Put down your device. Be present with others. Observe the world around you. Let your mind wander. Avoid blue light-emitting screen use before bedtime.
Find sources and additional readings on this topic below:
If you are a podcast listener, I hope you are a subscriber to the MVCC Library Podcasts! And, if you are a podcast listener, don’t miss Vulture’s article on the best podcasts of 2020.
Looking for something to read over Winter break? Check out the titles considered some of the best of 2020 by the New York Public Library and the Chicago Public Library. Click on the title or link below for a book summary. If you are new to Hoopla–create an account using your MVCC email, select Moraine Valley Community College as your library and use your MVCC username in place of a library card number. For help with Hooplaclick here or Ask a Librarian. For Library Winter break hours click here.
Today, NBC News is shining attention on the impact of COVID and calling attention to what we can do. They are doing a “homepage takeover” where their usual page full of news has been replaced with reporting on COVID. We are in the midst of the most difficult time of this pandemic. According Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield, who said that the next few months will be “the most difficult in the public health of this nation.”
The New York Times has released its 2020 Year in Pictures: “A Year Like No Other.” This is a powerful document with images from each month. The pandemic, racial protests & violence, the presidential election and much more. We are living through history, which, we are learning, is very difficult.
Have you ever found an interesting article in your social media, but you couldn’t read it without unblocking ads or subscribing to the publication? I had this happen to me recently when I found an interesting article entitled Can Books Compete With Netflix? Yes, and Here’s Why. It was published in the Wall Street Journal so when I tried to open it, I hit a paywall. Instead of paying for a subscription, I remembered that I can check to see if it’s in our Wall Street Journal database. Did you know that we have access to 100’s of magazine and and academic journals through our databases? You just need to go to our Research Tools page and either go to “All Databases” or choose a subject category underneath.
The Wall Street Journal database is under “News”. I did a search in the database for the article title, and I found it! Some publications don’t allow access to ALL of their articles so sometimes you may not be able to find what you are looking for. If that ever happens, the library can order the article from other libraries through our Interlibrary loan form, but sometimes, we may be able to find it in one of our other databases. The librarians are always happy to help, so please Ask a Librarian for help. If the article I was looking for interests you, here is a link to it in the WSJ database. Can Books Compete with Netflix? To read it, you will need to log in with your MV user name and password.
Any registered suburban Cook County voter may request a mail ballot using the online application. Once your registration is verified and the application is processed, a paper ballot will be sent to the mailing address you designate in your application. The deadline to apply is five days before the election.
The Clerk’s Office will offer secure mail ballot drop boxes. Additionally, the Clerk’s office will offer an Election Day Drop Box in Daley Plaza in Chicago. Ballots may also be returned via USPS.
For the November 3, 2020 Presidential Election, traditional Early Voting will take place October 19-November 2.
Registered suburban Cook County voters can only vote in their home precinct on Election Day.
Registered and unregistered Cook County residents can find their assigned polling place with the Your Voter Information tool.
Residents who are not registered to vote may register and cast a ballot on Election Day with same-day registration and voting. Those who wish to register on Election Day must present two qualifying forms of ID.
A voter who needs ID, but who cannot present ID, may cast a Provisional Ballot on Election Day. In order for that Provisional Ballot to be counted, the voter must present ID within 7 days of the election to the Cook County Clerk’s office, 69 W. Washington St., Suite 500, Chicago IL 60602.
