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It’s time for some good news, good news. It’s my favorite video of the week. I’m Jackie and normally I give you politics explained quickly. But once a week I like to make a video that focuses on good news…because goodness knows we need it. Please subscribe & share this video! Thanks for your support.
On vaccines, the US thinks they’ll have 4 coronavirus vaccine candidates in phase 3 clinical trials. That means each one will be enrolling 30,000 volunteers. And 2 of these trials are already underway and have about half the number of people needed.
In other health news, the World Health Organization announced that the African continent is free of the wild polio virus. To hit this milestone, there have been no cases on the continent for four years. 24 years ago, when the virus was paralyzing about 75,000 children each year, Nelson Mandela helped launch the campaign called Kick Polio Out of Africa in partnership with Rotary International. For what it’s worth, there is no cure for polio but it can be prevented by giving someone a simple and effective vaccine.
In terms of people going above and beyond, listen to this! The staff of the neonatal intensive care unit at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital in Louisiana stayed at work during the category 4 storm this past week even though it damaged the hospital and there was a mandatory evacuation order. Over a dozen nurses and respiratory specialists protected the babies. Real life heroes.
Traveling for a moment to Italy, once again we’re reminded why the Italians really know what they’re doing. Apparently, after the Plague hit Florence in the 1630s, wine windows were created so people could still get their vino but stay socially distant. Well, we’re basically dealing with our own plague so the wine windows are making a comeback! Some have been re-opened and wine, coffee and ice cream are being sold through them. I’m thinking it’s time Americans adopt this strategy as well. Call your contractor right away and get one of those put in!
Two lovely stories from Iowa. The first, Willie Ray’s Q Shack in Cedar Rapids has given away over 400 meals a day to the community after a big storm hit and damaged over 800 buildings, leaving a lot of people without power. The owner, Willie Fairley said he’s just trying to do what he can to ease the burden that some may be facing.
The second story is out of Dubuque, Iowa. A school, Alternative Learning Center, is allowing students to receive physical education credits by helping those with disabilities or seniors with their yard work. That’s genius, I hope they keep this going once the pandemic ends and I hope it spreads to other schools!
In Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, a group of young people have taken a gutted liquor store and have turned it into a pop-up food market to provide healthy food alternatives for the community. There aren’t many supermarkets in the area and little access to healthy nourishing food so these teenagers are changing things.
And in California, as fires rage, a certified crisis response therapy dog is helping bring joy to the firefighters who are battling the blazes. Kerith the golden retriever is the best dog and no doubt is lifting the firefighter’s spirits as they keep us all safe.
Hope this video was a nice reminder of the good in the world. Remember, way more people are awesome than not. Share your good news below and stay safe!
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