Health, Fitness and Style

The efforts to vaccinate people 65 and older have strained under the enormous demand that has overwhelmed cumbersome, inconsistent scheduling systems. The struggle represents a shift from the first wave of vaccinations — health care workers in health care settings — which went comparatively smoothly. Now, in most places, elderly people are pitted against one another, competing on an unstable technological playing field for limited shots. While the demand is an encouraging sign of public trust in the vaccines, the challenges facing seniors also speak to the country’s fragmented approach, which has left many confused and enlisting family members to hunt down appointments. more »

A Diane Girard Reprise: I am not usually a demanding woman, but there are pajamas I will not wear. I’m sorry if I offend anyone, but I no longer buy the ones with critters on them. I have tried — but the animals disturbed me. I woke up in the middle of the night, wondering if I had crushed the wee things. And their tiny paws left weird marks on my body, which stayed for hours. I don’t need wrinkles in strange places. I have a sufficient number already. Besides that, critters are entirely too cute and don’t suit my somewhat grumpy personality. I do not want to wear pink frilly nightwear either (not that there’s anything wrong with that) because then I feel silly, as if I’m stuck in a time warp at a pajama party. more »

Julia Sneden wrote: There's a phrase being bandied around these days: "Road Rage". It has been defined as a reaction to the drivers or the overcrowding on our superhighways. In fact, it's probably as old as the human species: that moment when someone younger brings you hard up against the fact that the inner you is no longer what others see in the outer you. In other words, when you discover that you look older than you feel, and are being treated accordingly. I call it Age Rage. Unlike 'Road Rage', you don't have to do anything to express it. Just feeling it is enough to mark you for life. more »

"The list of some 200 Trump pardons or commutations, most issued as he vacated the White House, included at least seven doctors or health care entrepreneurs who ran discredited health care enterprises, from nursing homes to pain clinics. One is a former doctor and California hospital owner embroiled in a massive workers’ compensation kickback scheme that prosecutors alleged prompted more than 14,000 dubious spinal surgeries. Another was in prison after prosecutors accused him of ripping off more than $1 billion from Medicare and Medicaid through nursing homes and other senior care facilities, among the largest frauds in U.S. history." more »