Story and photos by Darl DeVault

A retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel and dentist, Norman resident Stephen Reagan is expanding his daily volunteer work helping fellow veterans. For several years he has volunteered helping veterans file their VA claims at the Dale K. Graham Veterans Foundation. Now he is volunteering to help honor a long-deceased Oklahoma veteran—U.S. Navy Commander Ernest E. Evans, who earned the Medal of Honor for heroism in WWII.
Since its beginning, the veteran’s organization has helped more than 25,000 veterans file their benefits claims with the Veterans Administration. Its impact spans all 77 counties in Oklahoma, 45 states, and four foreign countries.
Segueing from helping at the foundation several mornings per week to raising funds to honor Muskogee High graduate Ernest Evans’ heroism has been a change of pace. Reagan, 74, plans to ramp up his fundraising efforts to find a suitable setting for a bronze bust of Evans in 2021.
“I was inspired to do this because Evans was the commander of the destroyer USS Johnston in the Battle off Samar where his heroic actions are as impressive as any war story I have ever heard,” Reagan said recently.
Fortunately, widely acclaimed Norman sculptor Paul Moore sees Reagan’s patriotic vision. He has sculpted the bust with the USS Johnston (DD 557) in miniature at the base in clay. This act of patriotism on Moore’s part gives Reagan’s mission a real boost of professional credibility.
Upon first learning of Evans’ heroism and Reagan’s mission to honor him, Moore was immediately on board, to use a nautical phrase. Evans’ bronze bust will be accompanied by an informational plaque on a granite pedestal. A clay model has already been completed. “I am grateful a talented and famous Oklahoma sculptor like Paul Moore sculpted the bronze bust,” Reagan said.
Of Native American heritage, Evans was largely forgotten in his home state because he left Oklahoma in the mid-1920s for the Navy. He only returned for visits with his mother and siblings in the Tulsa area. He was initially awarded the Navy Cross for his gallantry, but this was upgraded to our nation’s highest military distinction at the end of WWII.
His story of heroism first resonated with Reagan in 2008. “I read about Evans in an excellent book by James Hornfischer, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, which tells the story of one of the largest naval battles in history.”
The author describes the battle near the Philippine Islands in late October 1944. A Navy taskforce called Taffy 3 was assigned to protect the U.S. Army troops committed to the vital landing on the Philippines with General Douglas McArthur. Taffy 3 was to shield the vulnerable transports of the Leyte Gulf invasion fleet.
Taffy 3 consisted of six escort aircraft carriers (known as jeep carriers), three destroyers, and four destroyer escorts. The lightly armored, smallish escort carriers were lightly armed. They were built on commercial hulls, as platforms to launch aircraft. The destroyers and destroyer escorts were assigned to protect the escort carriers.
Early in the morning of October 25, off the island of Samar, the Imperial Japanese Navy “Center Force A” appeared on the horizon with no warning.
The Japanese force consisted of 23 ships, including four battleships and six heavy cruisers. Led by the super battleship Yamato, the largest and most-heavily gunned ship ever built, the Japanese display of force strength was a daunting sight.
This battle has been cited by naval historians as one of the greatest mismatches in history. Taffy 3 was there to provide the landings shore support and screen as an anti-submarine patrol. The group was never envisioned as a force capable of mounting fleet-level combat with battleships.
The USS Johnston, a Fletcher-class destroyer under Commander Evans, was the first American ship to attack the Japanese fleet. Without being ordered to attack, Evans sailed straight for the enemy against impossible odds. It was a suicide mission.
This bravery was foretold during the Johnston’s commissioning ceremony in October of 1943. New Commanding Officer Evans told sailors assigned to the ship: “This is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harm’s way, and anyone who doesn’t want to go along had better get off right now.” His sailors remained at their stations.
He ordered a smoke screen to protect himself and the rest of Taffy 3 and the wind made it effective. He first made a torpedo run toward a Japanese heavy cruiser and sank it. Being the first to attack, all this time the Johnston was taking heavy shell fire. Out of torpedoes, Evans continued to attack the Japanese with his five-inch guns.
After about two hours of fighting, the Johnston’s steering was knocked out as well as its communications. Wounded when the ship’s bridge was destroyed, Evans moved to the rear of the ship. From the fantail he controlled the ship by shouting orders through an open hatch to sailors turning the rudder by hand below.
A short while later the Johnston was dead in the water. Three hours after the battle began, a Japanese ship approached to point blank range and sank the destroyer. But by then the delaying action by the Johnston’s heroic crew and the sailors of the other small fighting ships had allowed all but one the jeep carriers to escape. The escort aircraft carrier USS Gambier Bay was sunk.
“This brief description doesn’t do justice to the heroism of Evans and his crew,” Reagan said. “The USS Johnston, with the other ships and planes of Taffy 3, fought so fiercely they surprised the Japanese. They thought they were fighting a much larger American force and retreated.”
Evans went down with his ship. His body was never recovered. Late in 1945 he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. His widow accepted the award in a ceremony near San Diego.
His actions and those of many other sailors and pilots of Taffy 3 saved the Navy from a near disaster. In addition to all earning Presidential Unit Citations, the sailors and pilots earned 22 Navy Crosses, 2 Silver Stars and 2 Bronze Stars for valor in combat operations.
Inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame in 2009, Evans received little recognition in Muskogee and in the state until this year. The Oklahoma Historical Society published a long-overdue account of his life and heroics in a 2010 issue of the society’s historical journal, Chronicles of Oklahoma.
On Veterans Day this year Oklahoma City unveiled the Oklahoma Medal of Honor Memorial at the new 27-acre Manuel Perez Park, named for a MOH winner. Evan’s valiant fighting spirit throughout his historic naval battle is honored at the plaza there with the 32 other Oklahomans who have earned the Medal of Honor.
Commander Evans graduated from Muskogee High School in 1926 and joined the Navy as an enlisted sailor. He then made his way to the Naval Academy where in 1931 he become one of the first Native Americans to graduate. At the academy he was nicknamed “Chief.” Serving in the fleet as a junior officer, he steadily advanced in rank to commanding the Johnston in 1944.
Reagan wants to see Evans honored with a bronze bust and historic marker on a pedestal. He hopes to place it in an appropriate setting. War Memorial Park in Muskogee would be one of his choices. The bronze bust, set on a base by Willis Granite of Granite, Okla., is envisioned as a patriotic fixture in Muskogee.
Reagan was born in Norman and raised in Claremore, Okla. He attended Cameron College and the University of Arkansas, playing baseball. He joined the U.S. Air Force for four years, then graduated dental school at the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry. He went on to serve in the Air Force for a total of 20 years.
He returned to Oklahoma to teach at the OU College of Dentistry for 20 years, where he was director of the Advanced General Dentistry Program. He has been married to his wife, Alice, for 52 years.
The cost of the project is near $40,000 for the bronze bust by Moore and the granite base. Willis Granite will do the installation. As an outdoor display, the City of Muskogee would need to provide a concrete base.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

After a career as a home builder, Gina Wallen-Conatser was happily retired.
But it seemed she kept hearing about a problem she just couldn’t shake.
Friends in the medical industry kept remarking how often seniors couldn’t make their scheduled appointments due to a lack of transportation.
Her parents in San Antonio would tell her stories about how unsafe it was to get around.
So with time on her hands, a problem to be solved and a family ready to help out she started Go Go Geezers, a ride service dedicated to helping people get around.
“We take seniors and people with disabilities to medical appointments, like dialysis and chemotherapy,” Wallen-Conatser said. “It helps keep people healthy and with early detection some illnesses may be prevented.”
“When people can get out and go on appointments, shopping and church, it helps with feelings of isolation. There is a sense of independence.”
Based in Yukon, Go Go Geezers traverses not only the metro but the state with enough notice.
“Covid has made transport a little more complicated,” she said. “We clean after every ride. We have plastic up that separates the driver from the rider. Drivers wear masks and gloves and we ask that riders wear masks.”
Drivers go through extensive training – CPR, defensive driver, passenger assistance, wheelchair ADA just to name a few.
“They treat the riders like family members,” Wallen-Conatser said. “They’re very careful. When the same drivers take the rider a couple times a week they build a friendship.”
Wallen-Conatser’s son, Blake, is a driver and partner. A customer remarked to her the other day they see him more than they see their own family
Wallen-Conatser loves the stories her drivers tell her. One of her driver’s told her a recent passenger noted her husband passed. She mentioned that a coffee would be nice but wouldn’t dream about drinking it in the new Go Go Geezer van. After the driver dropped her off to her appointment he returned at the appointed time with coffee and flowers.
Operations Manager Morgan called one night to tell her she had a rider who was going to the emergency room. Insurance normally covered their ride, but this time it wouldn’t.
Wallen-Conatser dispatched the Go Go Geezer van anyway to get her at 11:30 p.m. in a different town than normal.
“Everyday riders call and say wonderful things about all our drivers and dispatch,” she said. “When you book a ride with us, Morgan will call you the night before and verify reservation. Morgan gets to know the riders and she visits with them.”
“I tease her that she’s everyone’s granddaughter and best friend.”
Go Go Geezers took their first ride at the end of April. The service has grown to nine vehicles with three wheelchair vans.
“I want to keep growing and helping our community get to their appointments safely,” she said. “My family is in Texas and I would love to expand there. My goal is to keep hiring the best drivers who really care about the riders.”
“We can take anyone. You don’t have to be a senior or a person with disabilities,” she said. “We take riders all week long to work, or out to eat, church, shopping. We are children and pet-friendly. We have wheelchairs, walkers or car seats to use if needed. Our vehicles are new and clean.” For more information call 405-924-4248.

When Covid-19 hit James Richardson, it hit him hard. Now, the 45-year-old physical therapist is using his experience with the virus to help others.
A distance runner who also regularly lifts weights, the Oklahoma City resident didn’t fit any of the traditional risk factors associated with Covid-19. But shortly after a work exposure at his clinic in March, the virus had him fighting for his life.
Following his recovery, he’s now participating in antibody research at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation.
“It was such a miserable experience. If there’s anything I can do to help others avoid that or experience it less severely, that’s what I’m going to do,” he said.
Infected by a patient in his physical therapy clinic, Richardson soon developed a fever of almost 103 degrees and blacked out repeatedly. He was admitted to the emergency room at Integris Baptist Medical Center and moved to isolation in the hospital’s Covid unit.
“It felt like my chest was tightening more with every breath, like I had a constrictor snake wrapped around me,” he remembered. For a week in the hospital, he cycled in and out of consciousness.
The low point came when his oxygen levels crashed, and the ventilator team was called. “I was able to muster the word ‘no’ when they asked to vent me,” he said. “I was afraid of the long-term consequences.”
Fortunately, Richardson pulled through without the ventilator. But nine months later, he continues to feel the lingering effects of the virus.
I’m still dealing with things that don’t feel right. I can’t breathe well, and some of the cognitive effects are scary,” said Richardson. “I find myself trying to explain something to a patient or a colleague and can’t find the words; I just want to slap myself on the back of the head and yell, ‘Spit it out already!’”
Once he’d cleared the virus from his body for a sufficient period, Richardson began donating plasma to the Oklahoma Blood Institute for use in treating other Covid-19 patients. He also volunteered for research at OMRF, where scientists are studying his antibodies as part of a two-year federal grant.
“Our goal is to understand people’s differing immune responses to the virus,” said Linda Thompson, Ph.D., one of the leaders of the project at OMRF. Using blood donated by volunteers, the scientists are looking for biological clues that might identify those individuals most likely to experience a severe response to the virus.
This information can be used to develop potential treatments and to inform vaccine design and improvement over the coming years.
“Someone like James volunteering isn’t just valuable,” said Thompson. “It’s crucial in helping us understand the effects of antibodies in fighting this virus.” When Richardson learned what taking part in the OMRF research entailed, he says the decision to participate was easy.
“All I need to do is show up to help and give a little blood?” he said. “Count me in!”
If you’ve recently recovered from Covid-19 and are interested in volunteering for OMRF’s antibody research study, please call 405-271-7221.

Dear Savvy Senior,

I understand that a portion of my Social Security benefits may be taxable when I retire. Can you tell me how to calculate this? Ready to Retire

Dear Ready,
Whether or not you’ll be required to pay federal income tax on your Social Security benefits will depend on your income and filing status. About 35 percent of Social Security recipients have total incomes high enough to trigger federal income tax on their benefits.
To figure out if your benefits will be taxable, you’ll need to add up all of your “provisional income,” which includes wages, taxable and non-taxable interest, dividends, pensions and taxable retirement-plan distributions, self-employment, and other taxable income, plus half your annual Social Security benefits, minus certain deductions used in figuring your adjusted gross income.
How to Calculate
To help you with the calculations, get a copy of IRS Publication 915 “Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits,” which provides detailed instructions and worksheets. You can download it at IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p915.pdf or call the IRS at 800-829-3676 and ask them to mail you a free copy.
After you do the calculations, the IRS says that if you’re single and your total income from all of the listed sources is:
* Less than $25,000, your Social Security will not be subject to federal income tax.
* Between $25,000 and $34,000, up to 50 percent of your Social Security benefits will be taxed at your regular income-tax rate.
* More than $34,000, up to 85 percent of your benefits will be taxed.
If you’re married and filing jointly and the total from all sources is:
* Less than $32,000, your Social Security won’t be taxed.
* Between $32,000 and $44,000, up to 50 percent of your Social Security benefits will be taxed.
* More than $44,000, up to 85 percent of your benefits will be taxed.
If you’re married and file a separate return, you probably will pay taxes on your benefits.
To limit potential taxes on your benefits, you’ll need to be cautious when taking distributions from retirement accounts or other sources. In addition to triggering ordinary income tax, a distribution that significantly raises your gross income can bump the proportion of your Social Security benefits subject to taxes.
How to File
If you find that part of your Social Security benefits will be taxable, you’ll need to file using Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR. You also need to know that if you do owe taxes, you’ll need to make quarterly estimated tax payments to the IRS, or you can choose to have it automatically withheld from your benefits.
To have it withheld, you’ll need to complete IRS Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request (IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4v.pdf), and file it with your local Social Security office. You can choose to have 7 percent, 10 percent, 12 percent or 22 percent of your total benefit payment withheld. If you subsequently decide you don’t want the taxes withheld, you can file another W-4V to stop the withholding.
If you have additional questions on taxable Social Security benefits call the IRS help line at 800-829-1040.
State Taxation
In addition to the federal government, 13 states – Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia – tax Social Security benefits to some extent too. If you live in one of these states, check with your state tax agency for details. For links to state tax agencies see TaxAdmin.org/state-tax-agencies.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

Story and photos by Darl DeVault

In 2020 Basketball was cancelled and Pickleball moved outdoors In Norman to accommodate COVID-19 while the full slate of Oklahoma Senior Games was staged.
Regina Stewart, the Games’ volunteer coordinator, a senior athlete herself, was direct in explaining how it would work. “With our two-week preregistration window, it gave us time to contact everyone if we had to cancel one of the events,” Stewart said.
The Games grew to more than 1,000 50+ athletes in 2019 and added two Native American nations as sponsors to help to conduct the many activities needed to allow the Games to run smoothly September through October 2020. The Chickasaw and Cherokee Nations are underwrote the Games for the first time in 2020.
Stewart said she counts on the community to continue embracing what has come to be known as the “Oklahoma Standard” even in the time of COVID-19.
The Games promote healthy lifestyles for seniors through education, fitness with the spirited competition of sports and recreational games. This goes along with inspiring everyone to embrace health while enjoying the value of sports related exercise.
Volunteering opportunities abound as the Games grow. Oklahomans who have a flair for community service can help stage the Oklahoma Senior Games. Volunteers can help promote healthy lifestyles by encouraging active seniors 50 and over to enhance the quality of their lives through statewide athletic and recreational competition.
Also as the Track and Field coordinator in years past, Stewart said that more than 100 volunteers helped last year. She estimates double that number are needed to help this coming year to handle the social distance requirements and growth in the many sports offered. The sports offered and sign up for volunteering is found on the okseniorgames.org Web site under the Volunteer tab.
“The organizers are counting on the warm hospitality and strong sense of community spirt Oklahomans have shown as volunteers that allow the state to thrive. “Our volunteers are a major part of how and why Oklahoma has proven itself as a great place to compete in Senior Games each year,” Stewart said. “We have grown each of the last five years because of the time and energy Oklahomans who do not compete have invested in offering the Games to those who do compete.”
Volunteers make up the largest resource for the sanctioned state organization to produce state games each year. This help allows the Games to be the qualifying site in Oklahoma for the National Senior Games Association’s National competitions.
The Games provide up to 27 sports venues, some with variations, which offer athletic training opportunities and social interaction. Along with the competitions, the Games supply healthy lifestyle educational information for seniors. For general questions call (405) 821-1500 or email info@okseniorgames.org.

Examples of ways to volunteer:

Archery: Check-in, refreshments
Badminton: Check-in, refreshments
3 on 3 Basketball Free Throw/Around-the-world: Scorekeepers, rebounders
Bowling: Check-in, refreshments
Cornhole: Check-in, Scorekeepers
Cycling: Check-in, course monitors, bike holders, refreshments, medals
Golf and Golf Croquet: Check-in, refreshments
Horseshoes: Check-in, refreshments
Pickleball: Check-in, refreshments, scorekeepers
Race Walking: Check-in, water stops, course monitors, refreshments, medals
Racquetball: Check-in, refreshments
Road Races: Check-in, water stops, course monitors, refreshments, medals
Registration: Check-in athletes, t-shirt distribution,
Shuffleboard: Scorekeepers,
Swimming: Timers, Refreshments, Medals
Table Tennis: Check-in, refreshments,
Tennis: Check-in, refreshments, water coolers, t-shirt sales, ball retrieving/distribution
Triathlon: Course monitors, swim lap counters, water stops, check-in, refreshments
Track and Field: Check-in, field event helpers, timers, refreshments, runners, medals
Washer Pitch: Check-in, scorekeepers, refreshments

Three Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientists were recently recognized for excellence at the American College of Rheumatology meeting, the world’s largest annual conference for the field.
OMRF senior research assistant Sherri Longobardi received the Sjögren’s Foundation’s Outstanding Abstract Award for her work in identifying new methods for diagnosing Sjögren’s syndrome, where immune cells attack moisture-producing glands, causing symptoms that include severe dry eyes and dry mouth, fatigue, joint pain and rashes. There are currently no approved treatments for the illness.
Current blood tests to diagnose Sjögren’s look for biomarkers found in just 60% of patients, making the disease challenging to detect, and a lip biopsy is often required to confirm a diagnosis. Since beginning her research in 2016, Longobardi has identified eight new markers, paving the way for a blood test with accuracy rates as high as 93%.
Darise Farris, Ph.D., who mentors Longobardi at OMRF and holds a $2.7 million Sjögren’s grant from the National Institutes of Health, noted the work is a major step forward in the field. “This a significant discovery that could better diagnose patients and save a large portion from a painful lip biopsy and extensive testing.”
OMRF scientists Eliza Chakravarty, M.D., and Melissa Munroe, M.D., Ph.D., were also recognized for outstanding abstracts at the meeting. Their separate projects focused on better understanding aspects of the autoimmune disease lupus.
Chakravarty helped lead a multi-site NIH trial to determine whether patients can safely stop taking a lupus medication — mycophenolate mofetil — associated with numerous side effects. The study determined that patients with stable disease may be able to stop the medication without added risk of disease flare.
Munroe’s project examined specific inflammatory and regulatory imbalances in the blood that may help clinicians better predict and identify which relatives of lupus patients will go on to develop the condition.
“The American College of Rheumatology meeting is a gathering of the brightest minds in the field,” said OMRF Vice President of Clinical Affairs Judith James, M.D., Ph.D. “The recognition of these investigators and their teams is yet another nod to OMRF’s critical work in understanding and treating autoimmune diseases.”

by Steven Sibley of Sibley Insures, MBA/Health Care Administration

Sibley Insures is pleased to announce their strategic partnership with Mass Mutual of Oklahoma. Mike McCall, with Mass Mutual, serves as the primary Advisor on a team of professionals focused on retirement planning. “I am very excited to have both Steve and his wife Christina as a resource for our team.” Mike noted. “Our clients expect and deserve a high level of expertise and these two have it. Their input will ensure our clients have great, affordable healthcare, with ongoing support and advocacy throughout their retirement years.”
Sibley Insures is an independent insurance broker in Oklahoma City, specializing in Medicare and ancillary healthcare products. Steve, from Tulsa and licensed in Oklahoma, is a retired Air Force and Army veteran and holds an MBA with an emphasis in healthcare administration from MACU in OKC. He manages the business and their marketing. Christina is also licensed in Oklahoma and Kansas, where she is originally from. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Studies with an emphasis in Gerontology. She spends her time focused on consumer education, plan selection and advocacy for her clients.
Together, Steve and Christina bring a unique balance of healthcare planning experience to the table. She’s spent over 20 years as a caregiver in hands-on patient care; as an EMT, a Registered Medical Assistant in physicians’ practices, the supervisor of a homecare company and a healthcare sciences educator at the college level. She is all about patient and client care. Steve explains, “I tell people it’s like having someone in your corner with all this healthcare knowledge and experience, that just happens to be your favorite niece, and she will treat you like family.”
Steve’s career in the financial services industry started over 20 years ago. During that time he also served in the Army Reserve, as a weekend warrior and eventually as an active-duty reservist, ending his 36-year military career in September of 2017. “After retirement, I wanted to be an independent broker and add a focus on health insurance to my financial services business.” Christina agreed to join him in business, got licensed and once she discovered Medicare, she loved it. Steve ended up spending the next 3 years focused on supporting Christina in her Medicare business and becoming a house husband. However, he knew that eventually he wanted to get back into the field. “With my knowledge of both financial services and how Medicare works, I knew I could carve out a niche helping advisers and their clients get a real clear picture of healthcare costs in retirement and strategically plan for it.”
That is where Mike McCall comes in. He’s also an Army Veteran and as a financial services advisor has over 20 years of education enhanced skillsets and experience. He’s continued serving people in a specialty centered around income planning for retirement. “Life is always changing; therefore, the financial planning landscape is always evolving. I believe most people are so busy living life that they need someone at their side to help them navigate the challenges of creating sustainable income during retirement. That’s what I do and I share that responsibility myself and for my family. So, it is work I take seriously and it’s work I love.” In addition to Mike’s experience, the next most important part of his knowledge and growth has been his education. “I’m fortunate that Mass Mutual invests in my continuing education and I believe that pays dividends for my clients.” With a Degree in Management and Ethics from MACU here in OKC, he also holds the esteemed professional designations of: Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), and Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP). Mike’s a family man, with wife Joyce, a nurse at Baptist Hospital, and two adult sons.
“Our goal is to help people do for their families, what we would do for our own.” Mike points out. “We’ve developed a model for strategically guiding our clients through healthcare planning. We’ve also armed clients with a knowledgeable team of advocates, such as health insurance agents, who’ll guide them into the right Medicare and ancillary plans. An Advisor, who’ll skillfully recommend financial vehicles for healthcare savings to mitigate expenses not typically covered by insurance, and Attorneys, who’ll ensure the proper legal healthcare documents are put into place. Our clients can be confident they have a sound, strategic, flexible plan that works very well, which, while being affordable, offers a high level of coverage, that protects their most important assets, their health, wellness and wealth. We are looking for 2021 to be a great year for helping seniors in this area.” For more information contact Steven Sibley 405-850-1569, ssibleyinsures@gmail.com.

Oklahomans should feel confident in receiving either of the vaccines.
Still, we know there is a lot of mis-information out there. The Mayo Clinic debunks many of the most common myths below.
Myth: The COVID-19 vaccine is not safe because it was rapidly developed and tested.
Fact: Many pharmaceutical companies invested significant resources into quickly developing a vaccine for COVID-19 because of the world-wide impact of the pandemic. The emergency situation warranted an emergency response but that does not mean that companies bypassed safety protocols or perform adequate testing.
To receive emergency use authorization, the biopharmaceutical manufacturer must have followed at least half of the study participants for at least two months after completing the vaccination series, and the vaccine must be proven safe and effective in that population. In addition to the safety review by the FDA, the Advisory Committee on Immunization has convened a panel of vaccine safety experts to independently evaluate the safety data from the clinical trials. The safety of the COVID-19 vaccine will continue to be closely monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the FDA.
Myth: I already had COVID-19 and recovered, so I don’t need to get a COVID-19 vaccine when it’s available.
Fact: There is not enough information currently available to say if or for how long after infection someone is protected from getting COVID-19 again. This is called natural immunity. Early evidence suggests natural immunity from COVID-19 may not last very long, but more studies are needed to better understand this. Mayo Clinic recommends getting the COVID-19 vaccine, even if you’ve had COVID-19 previously. However, those that had COVID-19 should delay vaccination until about 90 days from diagnosis. People should not get vaccinated if in quarantine after exposure or if they have COVID-19 symptoms.
Myth: There are severe side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Fact: There are short-term mild or moderate vaccine reactions that resolve without complication or injury. Keep in mind that these side effects are indicators that your immune system is responding to the vaccine and are common when receiving vaccines.
Myth: I won’t need to wear a mask after I get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Fact: It may take time for everyone who wants a COVID-19 vaccination to get one. Also, while the vaccine may prevent you from getting sick, it is unknown at this time if you can still carry and transmit the virus to others. Until more is understood about how well the vaccine works, continuing with precautions such as mask-wearing and physical distancing will be important.
Myth: More people will die as a result of a negative side effect to the COVID-19 vaccine than would actually die from the virus.
Fact: Circulating on social media is the claim that COVID-19’s mortality rate is 1%-2% and that people should not be vaccinated against a virus with a high survival rate. However, a 1% mortality rate is 10 times more lethal than the seasonal flu. In addition, the mortality rate can vary widely and is influenced by age, sex and underlying health condition.
You cannot get COVID-19 infection from the COVID-19 vaccines; they are inactivated vaccines and not live vaccines.
While no vaccine is 100% effective, they are far better than not getting a vaccine. The benefits certainly outweigh the risks in healthy people.
Myth: The COVID-19 vaccine was developed as a way to control the general population either through microchip tracking or nano transducers in our brains.
Fact: There is no vaccine “microchip” and the vaccine will not track people or gather personal information into a database. This myth started after comments made by Bill Gates from The Gates Foundation about a digital certificate of vaccine records. The technology he was referencing is not a microchip, has not been implemented in any manner and is not tied to the development, testing or distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Myth: The COVID-19 vaccine will alter my DNA.
Fact: Injecting mRNA into your body will not interact or do anything to the DNA of your cells. Human cells break down and get rid of the mRNA soon after they have finished using the instructions.
Myth: The COVID-19 vaccines were developed using fetal tissue.
Fact: Current mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were not created with and do not require the use of fetal cell cultures in the production process.
INTEGRIS Health is a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network.

by Vickie Jenkins, Staff Writer

There is no denying that the last nine months have been very difficult for our caregivers. COVID-19 is a devastating and relentless disease that knows no rules or boundaries. The medical community is working day and night to unlock its mysteries and we’re learning more each day on how to treat those infected – yet the death toll continues to rise. Our caregivers are exhausted from the rigorous donning and doffing of personal protective equipment while in the back of their minds is fear that they could be contracting and or bringing this virus home to their loved ones. They are witnessing significant mortalities and many say they have seen more death in the last month then they have in their entire careers. They are literally doing everything they can to try to save as many patients as possible. They pour their heart and soul into each patient but at the end of the day, they know some will not make it out of their unit.
With family members not being allowed inside the hospital for safety concerns, our caregivers are playing dual roles. They are not only caregivers to these patients, they are also their support system. They are comforting patients when they are scared, hugging them when they are lonely and unfortunately holding their hands as the pass away. Our caregivers serve as the liaison between our patients and their families worrying at home. They facilitate phone calls and video conferences when they can and become emotionally invested. It is physically, mentally and spiritually exhausting.
While the recent approval of the COVID-19 vaccine is rejuvenating and uplifting, it will still take quite some time and will require majority compliance to see the true impact. In the meantime, the models indicate that it will get worse before it gets better. Our caregivers are bracing for what is to come.
Support from the community is imperative to help get them through these dark days. Anything helps. Cards, notes, care packages, prayers. They are all meaningful and appreciated. These tokens are sometimes the catalysts that get them through their next shift. It’s amazing to watch their faces light up when they receive even the simplest gesture. Anyone interested in supporting our INTEGRIS Health caregivers can make a monetary gift to the Caregiver Relief Fund at integrisrelief.org or reach out to the INTEGRIS Health Foundation team at giving@integrisok.com to discuss other giving opportunities.

The following statement is attributable to Ernest J. Grant, PhD, RN, FAAN, President, American Nurses Association (ANA):
“To claim that health care professionals are inflating the number of COVID-19 cases or deaths to make more money is outrageous, baseless, and dangerous.
Nurses, physicians, and other frontline health care workers have endured brutally long shifts covered in stifling personal protective equipment (PPE). Others have faced long days and weeks caring for COVID-19 patients, working without sufficient PPE, or forced to reuse PPE multiple times, increasing their risk of infection, or bringing the virus home to those they love, illness and even death.
More than 350 nurses in the United States have died as a result of COVID-19, many others have been infected and hospitalized. All have faced extreme stress and mental anguish.
As cases and hospitalizations surge across this country, our nation’s leaders have a responsibility to call for and model public health measures to stem the spread of the disease. They should follow science and the guidance of health care professionals.
Nurses, physicians, and other frontline health care workers have demonstrated courage, commitment, and grit in responding to this pandemic, risking their own health and safety to care for others. To try to slander or place blame on these dedicated health care professionals is a shameless, blatant lie.”