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American Red Cross calls for blood donations

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

The American Red Cross is urging people to donate blood as the organization experiences the lowest blood supply and donor turnout that it’s had ahead of the holiday season in more than a decade.

While donor turnout typically declines during the holidays, turnout in recent months has been especially low and especially troubling, said Krystal Smith, communications director for the American Red Cross North Texas Region.

Blood shortages mean patients who are seriously injured may not be able to get blood transfusions they need, and can lead to some patients deferring major surgeries such as organ transplants.

While people were eager to step up and donate last year during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, donors’ sense of urgency has not carried over into 2021, Smith said. Yet many of the reasons for the low turnout and increased need for blood stem from the pandemic, Smith said.

“Part of that is (donors’) nerves over there being a pandemic and wanting to make sure that they stay safe,” she said. “Part of it’s been increased needs from hospitals from patients delaying services during the pandemic’s height and now coming back and needing additional transfusions.”

Smith said patients shouldn’t be worried about visiting a donation center; the Red Cross is continuing to take additional health precautions at donation centers to ensure patients’ safety.

The organization has encouraged people to schedule appointments online, has asked donors to stay at least 6 feet apart, has required the use of face masks and has added extra cleanings between patients “to help make it a safe environment while still collecting that lifesaving blood,” Smith said.

To donate blood, people must be 16 or older, in good health and weigh at least 110 pounds. Other eligibility criteria can be viewed online. People can return to donate every 56 days.

Appointments to donate blood can be made online, through the Blood Donor App, or by calling 1-800733-2767. Businesses and organizations can also apply to host a blood drive online.

Mobile

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people the help they need will be essential to controlling and stopping the virus in our community.”

Announcement of the grant and the local mobile WILLIAMS testing initiative comes as the omicron variant continues its march across the nation. The fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus was first identified in South Africa and was designated a variant of concern Nov. 26. Health officials confirmed Dec. 1 the first U.S. case of a person infected with the omicron variant was discovered in San Francisco in an airline passenger returning to the U.S. from South Africa.

The variant as of Sunday had been detected in 44 states as well as the nation’s capital and in Puerto Rico. A statewide indoor mask mandate was put into place Wednesday to slow the spread of the virus, regardless of variant type.

Two testing events are planned before the Christmas holiday in Vallejo, one from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Monday at Emmanuel Temple Apostolic Church, 900 6th St., the other from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Food is Free Solano booth at the Solano County Fairgrounds, 600 Fairgrounds Drive. Both are open to the general public. No appointments are needed and walk-ins are welcome.

Future testing sites are expected to include grocery stores, churches, laundromats, low-income apartment complexes, transitional homes, homeless shelters, businesses and special events held by community and civic organizations, among others.

“We will show up anywhere there is an opportunity and a need,” Williams said in the press release. To schedule a testing event, send an email to testing@brandgov. com or call 707-474-8777. The mobile testing effort is the latest in a series of outreach, health and public safety programs BrandGOV has created or been a part of during the pandemic. The company founded Empower Solano in March 2020 and has since worked with community and civic groups to conduct a variety of public education campaigns, including ones to encourage mask-wearing and Covid-19 vaccinations; promote safe participation in county and state elections and the U.S. Census; and demonstrate ways to prepare for natural disasters.

“The state was impressed with the local, grassroots work we’ve done over the last nearly two years, and the community trust we’ve built with the success of our projects,” Williams said in the press release.

The company’s past outreach initiatives have led to in-person or virtual interactions with more than 100,000 Solano County residents.

The California Department of Public Health funds were granted under the auspices of BrandGOV’s fiscal sponsor, Match2Hire, a nonprofit that specializes in employment assistance. To learn more about the work being done through Empower Solano and how to get involved, visit www. empowersolano.com.

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But Manchin, whose reluctance to get behind the legislation has grown as inflation has risen to levels not seen in decades, sounded on Sunday like his mind is made up. It’s still possible, though seemingly unlikely, that the senator’s firm statement just days before Christmas does not foreclose the possibility of negotiations continuing in the new year, possibly on a pared-down version of the House-passed legislation.

“I’ve tried. I mean I really did. And the president was trying as hard as he could,” Manchin said. “He has an awful lot of irons in the fire right now. A lot. More on his plate than he needs for this to continue.”

In response, the White House issued a scathing statement by press secretary Jen Psaki, who said the senator’s comments were “at odds with his discussions this week with the President, with White House staff, and with his own public utterances.”

Manchin, she said, had given Biden a “written outline” last week of a package he could support that would have been “the same size and scope” as the president’s framework, leading the administration to believe continued talks would eventually lead to an agreement.

“Senator Manchin promised to continue conversations in the days ahead, and to work with us to reach that common ground,” Psaki continued. “If his comments on Fox and written statement indicate an end to that effort, they represent a sudden and inexplicable reversal in his position, and a breach of his commitments to the President and the Senator’s colleagues in the House and Senate.”

The castigation, which came after months of diplomatic statements refusing to criticize Manchin or negotiate with him through the press, finally made the administration’s frustration clear. Yet Psaki vowed that negotiations would continue because the legislation was “too important to give up. We will find a way to move forward next year.”

Manchin, according to a person with knowledge of the conversation, did have an aide inform the administration of his position shortly before going on television Sunday. But he did not engage with the White House himself. He expanded on his reasoning – and offered even harsher words for his fellow Democrats – in a statement issued shortly after his television appearance.

“My Democratic colleagues in Washington are determined to dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face,” he said. “I cannot take that risk with a staggering debt of more than $29 trillion and inflation taxes that are real and harmful to every hard-working American at the gasoline pumps, grocery stores and utility bills with no end in sight.”

The senator, who is up for reelection in 2024 in a state Biden lost by 40 points, also cited a second Congressional Budget Office report, which Republicans requested, that determined the legislation would cost $4.5 trillion if the subsidies and credits included were extended. The White House dismissed that CBO score as “fake,” arguing that the proposal as written would cost far less and be fully paid for.

In her statement, Psaki rebutted Manchin’s argument about inflation, noting the plan is “fully paid for” and that Biden has made clear to Manchin he doesn’t support extending the programs beyond what’s in the legislation. “That’s not what the president has proposed, not the bill the Senate would vote on, and not what the president would support,” she said.

But Republicans believe any new benefits would likely be extended at a later date. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of the lawmakers who sought the second CBO score likely in hopes of influencing Manchin, took a victory lap praising his Democratic colleague. “The CBO analysis confirmed Senator Manchin’s worst fears about Build Back Better,” Graham said. “He has always stated that he will not support a bill full of gimmicks, a bill that added to the debt or a bill that made inflation worse.”

Several Democrats, apparently caught off guard by Manchin’s move, insisted that their agenda must still move forward. “It’s not over yet,” Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., insisted during an appearance on MSNBC.

One of the most vulnerable House Democrats, Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who voted for the legislation despite the political risk in her conservative district, said in a statement that the provisions in the bill remain “critical for the long-term health, safety and security of our families and our communities.” She blasted Manchin, saying it was “unacceptable” that he “walked away from productive negotiations.”

The defeat of Biden’s ambitious domestic program would mark a devastating setback for a president who suggested that his 36 years in the Senate would enable him to succeed in bridging divides and entered office envisioning a historic, President Franklin D. Roosevelt-styled agenda in response to the pandemic and resulting economic instability.

The legislation’s demise means the expiration next month of the 2021 child tax credit that had given qualifying families up to $300 per month for each child under age 6 and up to $250 per month for each child ages 6 through 17. Beyond that, new proposals to subsidize the cost of child

care, preschool and elder care are off the table, for now. The White House had argued such benefits were a prudent response to rising inflation. The development was exactly what House progressives were worried about in October, when they had initially withheld their support for the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill – the other half of Biden’s jobs agenda – out of concern Manchin and other Democratic moderates wouldn’t back the social spending legislation. They had ‘Let Mr. Manchin explain to planned to pass the package through a the people why he doesn’t process known as budget reconciliahave the guts to stand up to tion, which requires just 50 Senate votes, powerful special interests.’ allowing Vice President Kamala Harris — Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. to break the tie in the evenly divided Senate. No Republicans supported the measure. The progressives eventually agreed to vote on the infrastructure package after Biden said he’d gotten Manchin and others to agree in principle to a framework for the Build Back Better legislation. But that agreement does not appear to have held. The most outspoken Senate progressive, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was among the first to react to Manchin’s statement. During an interview on CNN, Sanders said that Manchin will have to explain to his constituents in West Virginia, “a state that is struggling,” why he’d stand in the way of new Medicare subsidies for dental coverage and investments aimed at combating climate change. “Let Mr. Manchin explain to the people why he doesn’t have the guts to stand up to powerful special interests,” Sanders said, calling for a full Senate vote on the legislation next month even if the bill fails. “We’ve been dealing with Mr. Manchin for month after month after month,” Sanders said. “But if he doesn’t have the courage to do the right thing for the working families of West Virginia and America, let him vote no in front of the whole world.”

Spike

From Page One

demic, told CNN the nation should be prepared for big spikes in hospitalizations and deaths.

“We are going to see a significant stress in some regions of the country on the hospital system, particularly in those areas where you have a low level of vaccination,” he said.

Asked about holiday travel on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Fauci added: I think people just need to be prudent. Clearly, when you travel, there is always a risk of increased infection. That just goes with respiratory illnesses. But if people need to travel and want to travel for the obvious family reasons, during this holiday season, if you’re vaccinated and you’re boosted and you take care when you go into congregate settings like airports to make sure you continually wear your mask, you should be OK.”

He said there will be breakthrough infections among the vaccinated. “There’s no doubt about that. The difference between a vaccinated and boosted person who has an infection, and someone who has an infection who’s never been vaccinated – a major difference with regard to the risk of severity,” he added.

Dr. Francis Collins, head of the National Institutes of Health, told CBS: “A big message for today is, if you’ve had vaccines and a booster, you’re very well protected against omicron causing you severe disease. So anybody listening to this who is in that 60% of Americans who are eligible for a booster but haven’t yet gotten one, this is the week to do it. Do not wait.”

The variant, which has spread rapidly around the world since it was first identified in South Africa last month, appears to be fueling surges in other countries and on the U.S. East Coast. In areas of New York and New Jersey, omicron is estimated to account for 13% of new coronavirus cases, compared with 3% nationally. New York public health officials on Friday reported the state’s highest single-day total of new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began.

Nationally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention forecasts there could be more than 1 million new coronavirus cases recorded the week of Christmas. By contrast, around Halloween, there were 500,000 new weekly cases.

Outbreaks of the virus have forced the postponement of sporting events, including the Los Angeles Rams’ game against the Seattle Seahawks scheduled for Sunday, which was moved to Tuesday.

California is already dealing with a holiday surge from the delta variant.

Statewide, Covid-19 hospitalizations are up 16% since Nov. 24, and in much of Southern California the increases are worse.

“Unfortunately, we’re seeing indications of a winter surge on the heels of the Thanksgiving holiday,” said L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer this past week. “Case rates and daily hospitalization admissions are steadily increasing, and we anticipate that they will continue to increase as we enter the winter holidays.”

The omicron threat adds another layer of concern.

Omicron has now been detected in all sewage areas monitored by Santa Clara County, the home of Silicon Valley, meaning the variant “is present, at some level, in all parts of the county,” said local public health director Dr. Sara Cody last week.

“What I see is perhaps one of the most challenging moments that we’ve had yet in the pandemic. And I think it’s challenging because it’s not what we were expecting,” Cody said. “We’ve all come to learn to live with Covid over the last two years, and we’re all a bit tired. But I want to let you know that when I look around the corner, I see a lot of Covid and a lot of omicron.”

Family

From Page One was enjoyed.

The school’s registrar, Sue Olivares, told the story of “The Magic Embrace” in Spanish.

A rendition of “Jingle Bells” followed as Crystal Principal Jay Dowd prepared for a telling of the story, “Ira Sleeps Over.”

“This is a lot of fun,” Dowd said before taking center stage. “It’s been a long pandemic and we’ve missed these kids. It’s great to get everyone back together and on a high note.”

He did have one regret.

“I’m seeing former students who wanted to know why we didn’t do this for them,” he said.

The event will continue in the future, he said.

The evening ended with “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” in both English and Spanish.

Doherty was joined on guitar by Mike Mulvihill, a sixth-grade teacher, and her sister-in-law, Chris Close, who traveled from Lake Tahoe with her ukulele.