Researchers said the Pfizer vaccine was 88% effective against the B.1.617.2 variant, first found in India, and 93% effective against the variant found in the U.K., known as B.1.1.7, two weeks after the second dose.
From the Everyday Health website
There’s nothing more luxurious than arriving at a perfectly made-up hotel room after a long day of traveling. But in this era of COVID-19, you don’t have to be a germaphobe to worry about viruses and bacteria that may be lurking.
Hotels also pose potential health risks that predate the pandemic — from down pillows, which can trigger an allergic reaction in some people, to the age-old problem of (sorry) bed bugs.
Before you panic, one good thing to come out of the pandemic is that many hotels are taking extra measures to safeguard guests’ health, such as improving ventilation in common areas and individual guest rooms and implementing more robust cleaning procedures.
This post was written by Retired Command Sgt. Maj. James Reis
The story began in the 1970-71 timeframe, when the Hawai‘i Army National Guard decided to create a memorial to honor the 29 Hawai‘i Army Guard and Reservist who died while on active duty during the 1968 call-up. A large bronze plaque was commissioned. The design was to include the names and activated units of the 29 Soldiers.
Off the Cinema Shorthand Society Facebook page
James Stewart was the first movie star to enter the service for World War II, joining a year before Pearl Harbor was bombed. He was initially refused entry into the Air Force because he weighed 5 pounds less than the required 148 pounds, but he talked the recruitment officer into ignoring the test.
He eventually became a Colonel (active duty) and then Brigadier General in the United States Air Force Reserve, and earned the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Croix de Guerre and 7 battle stars. In 1959, he served in the Air Force Reserve, before retiring as a brigadier general. (Walter Matthau was a sergeant in his unit).
Despite having been a decorated war hero in World War II, he declined to talk about this, in part because of the traumatic experiences he had in killing others and watching friends die. The roles he chose after returning from the war were generally darker, some say because he was hardened by combat. Stewart a dislike of Hollywood war movies, explaining that they were hardly ever accurate. During his career, he only starred in two war films: “Strategic Air Command” (1955) and “The Mountain Road” (1960).
From the Images of Old Hawaii website
“Custom, which is stronger than law, has made May 30th a national holiday. We trust it will ere long be made a legal day of rest. Since the close of the late civil war it has been held sacred to the memory of the sailors and soldiers who lost their lives in defense of the Union.”
“Business is almost entirely suspended and flags float from public and private buildings, while the boom of cannon at sunrise awaken the people of of each city. Especially is the day observed in those towns and cities near which National Cemeteries are located.”
“At first, the day was one divided between sorrow and bitterness, and often the orators took advantage of the still bleeding wounds of those who lost friends to enforce sectional strife and advance their own interest …”
Off the Hawaii Air National Guard Facebook page
Congratulations to Master Sgt. Joleen Morse from the 204th Airlift Squadron, who is the National Guard Bureau’s Senior NCO recipient of the Staff Sergeant Henry E. “Red” Erwin Outstanding Enlisted Aircrew Aviator for 2021!
As a high-performing loadmaster and leader in the airlift community, Morse has ‘raise the bar’ and mentored so many of her ‘Pueo’ wingmen and peers in our ‘Ohana. We are all proud and honored to serve alongside you and wish you luck as you compete at the Air Force level for this prestigious award!
The term “life settlement” might sound arcane, but it actually describes something fairly straightforward: the sale of life insurance you no longer need or now can’t afford. While a settlement isn’t the right move for everyone, it allows you to get money for a policy so the funds can be put to other uses.
Conventional wisdom holds that there are only two options for unwanted or unaffordable permanent life insurance — that is, of the whole-life or universal types, which combine a death benefit with an investment component that has its own separate value. The policy can either be allowed to lapse or surrendered in exchange for the return of a portion of the money you invested in it.
There are plenty of ups and downs if you’re caring for an elderly parent, disabled spouse or another adult family member. On the one hand, making a loved one’s life better can be rewarding. On the other, the time and effort it takes can wear you down. There are financial costs as well. For instance, you may be paying all or part of a family member’s medical or daily living expenses. Plus, you might be losing income because you can’t work—or work a full schedule—while caring for them.
Some organizations will help you cope with the emotional toll of caregiving. But what about assistance with the financial impact? That’s where Uncle Sam steps in with a collection of federal tax breaks, some of which have been enhanced for this year. You won’t necessarily qualify for each one, but you should at least check them all out.
A 65-year-old couple retiring this year can expect to spend a combined $300,000 on health care costs in retirement, according to Fidelity’s annual Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate released last week.
While that’s up just 1.7% from last year’s estimate of $295,000, the relatively small jump is no consolidation for pre-retirees, who can expect health care spending to represent about 15% of their annual expenditures, Fidelity says.
Off the Hawaii Air National Guard Facebook page
In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, the Hawaii Air National Guard launched a unique set of sorties today with aircrews comprised of all-AAPI servicemembers. This total-force event was executed by guardsmen who grew up here in the Hawaiian Islands and their active-duty counterparts from the 15th Wing.
In addition to the all-AAPI aircrews, the majority of the maintenance and support personnel involved in today’s sortie are also AAPIs. As today’s mission came to a successful closure, we are reminded of the many diverse cultures which make up our ‘Ohana and we recognize how every ethnic background has so much to offer in this incredible community we share.
When President Joe Biden issued his Proclamation on Asian American and Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander Heritage Month, 2021, he appears to have changed Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) to Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs). Accordingly, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month became Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
From the Task and Purpose website
Imagine you are flying in an airplane through the worst turbulence you can think of, with the plane dropping 200 feet in the blink of an eye and the fuselage itself flexing all around you. Then imagine you can’t see out the window because it’s the middle of the night and it’s pouring rain outside. But don’t worry, you can still smell the sharp, chlorine-like tang of ozone as static electricity builds up on the aircraft from all the precipitation.
If you’re lucky, you might even see a brilliant white flash followed by a loud bang in the rare chance lightning hits the aircraft. But no matter, the plane presses on, because you’re on a WC-130J aircraft assigned to the Hurricane Hunters of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, and your job is to keep flying until you reach the eye of the storm.
The Department of Veterans Affairs will soon start processing claims for three new presumptive illnesses linked to exposure to herbicides in Vietnam and elsewhere. It also plans to automatically review all previous claims and denials for the conditions, VA officials said Thursday.
According to VA Secretary Denis McDonough, the department in coming weeks will issue a policy to implement a law that added bladder cancer, hypothyroidism and Parkinsonism — or Parkinson’s-like symptoms — to the list of conditions considered linked to Agent Orange exposure.
Please share with Vietnam veterans you know.
From the Medical News Today website
In cancer, cells grow and divide at an abnormally fast rate. Cancer may develop because of alterations to the cell’s genes. These changes may be hereditary or caused by environmental factors.
Usually, the body sends signals to tell cells when to stop dividing or die. If there are genetic changes to cells’ behavior, they ignore these signals and continue to reproduce. These cells may spread into the surrounding tissue and may cause tumors.
According to the American Cancer Society, cancer affects one-third of all people in the United States.
Retiree News 