LOCAL NEWS

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Maverick Owens

Congratulations Maverick Owens for earning your
Associate of Science and Associate of Art from FVCC.
Maverick started classes in the Summer of 2019 through the Running Start Program. He has since accumulated 77 credits to earn his duel degree. Maverick will be going to Montana Tech next Fall where he will be applying the credits he has earned and on track to earn yet another set of duel degrees in Computer Science and Software Engineering, with at least ea minor in Math. But first, he will walk the stage as Salutatorian for the Libby Loggers Class of 2021 on Sunday, May 30th.

“Nothing Else is Even Close”

Libby Chamber launches essay contest

The Libby Area Chamber of Commerce will be holding an essay contest to launch their upcoming blog. Prizes will be awarded for top entries and the first place essay will be used as the inaugural blog post.

To participate in the contest, pick up an Essay Contest Application from the Chamber Office Monday through Friday, 11AM – 4PM, or visit the Chamber’s Website.

“Nothing Else is Even Close: A persuasive personal narrative about an experience in Libby, Montana,” is the theme.

To be eligible to participate, the author must be a Libby area resident and submit the completed application with their essay.
Essays should be 400-1000 words.

All entries must be submitted to the Chamber, either in person or via email by May 28 to be considered.

The purpose of the Chamber’s blog is to create positive exposure for the Libby area through sharing personal stories along with current, accurate information.

This will further help the chamber in
its mission to promote and support the
business community, stimulate a vibrant and collaborative local economy, and enhance the quality of life in the greater Libby area.

If you have any questions, please contact the Chamber Office (406) 293-4167 or send an email to info@libbychamber.org.

“Dear Doc”

Dr. Gregory Rice, M.D.

 

Dear Doc, I’m pregnant and concerned about
getting the vaccine.
Could it hurt the baby?

The most recently
published articles include a study of 100,000 pregnant women who have received the vaccine and there is no suggestion the vaccine has harmed the pregnancy or
the baby.

Because pregnant women are at higher risk for getting seriously ill from COVID-19 and the vaccines appear to be very safe, both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are recommended at any time during or just before pregnancy. The good thing
is that the antibodies that mom makes against the
virus cross the placenta to the baby and protect the baby for the first six months of life.

Despite disinformation stating otherwise, there is no evidence the vaccine harms the placenta. What is most harmful to the unborn child is if the mom gets
seriously ill with COVID-19.

In that situation there is a greater chance she will lose the baby or have to have the baby delivered early.

Thereis no evidence
that the COVID-19 vaccine reduces women’s fertility.

 

Dear Doc, I am a high school junior and thinking about getting the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
Some of the guys are saying that it will affect my fertility and I might not be able to father children.
Is that true?

Many viruses can cause orchitis (infection of the testicles where sperm are made) which can cause infertility. The most notorious is the Mumps virus.

However, we rarely see Mumps cases now due to vaccines (MMR Vaccine). So now most cases of orchitis are sporadic and due to more common less dangerous viruses for which we do not vaccinate.

The Mumps vaccine has never been shown to cause reduced fertility in men or women.

In fact, no other vaccines have ever been shown to reduce fertility in men or women. This is true for the current COVID vaccines as well. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were first tested on thousands of people last
summer and fall. Since then, over 100 million men and women have received them.

Infertility has not been reported in any of those
vaccinated. There is no known reduction in sperm counts in men or reports of orchitis after the vaccine. There have been some
sporadic reports of orchitis associated with the disease COVID-19, but no more than with many other viruses.

 

How did your friends hear about the COVID-19 vaccines causing infertility?

Wolfgang Wodarg who
is a German physician and known to be against vaccines, got together with a Pfizer employee to petition the European Medicines Agency (similar to our FDA) to delay the release of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

His arguments were
theoretical and did not
hold water; he presented no evidence; his request was turned down.

The anti-vaccine folks picked up on Dr Wodarg’s petition to the European Medicines Agency and used that as “evidence” the
vaccine can cause infertility.
In reality this case demonstrates the opposite: there
is no link between the
vaccine and male or female infertility.

Another source of this disinformation comes from novels and most famously from the mini-series on
Amazon Prime Video
released in 2013 called “Utopia”. Part of the plot is about causing infertility with vaccines. Again, no such vaccines exist in real life.

 

Have a COVID-19 Question? Email your inquiries to gregrice@frontiernet.net or mail to: Greg Rice,

1020 Idaho Ave,

Libby MT 59923