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AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyPersonal HealthMedical Marijuana Is Not Regulated as Most Medicines AreThe industry lacks randomized controlled clinical trials that can clearly establish benefits and risks.Credit…Gracia LamMarch 8, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ETDan Shapiro was the first person I knew to use medical marijuana. As a junior at Vassar College in 1987, he was being treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma with potent chemotherapy that caused severe nausea and vomiting. When Dan’s mother learned that smoking marijuana could relieve the distressing side effect, to help her son, this otherwise law-abiding woman planted a garden full of the illegal weed in her Connecticut back yard.Decades later, marijuana as medicine has become a national phenomenon, widely accepted by the public. Although the chemical-rich plant botanically known as Cannabis sativa remains a federally controlled substance, its therapeutic use is now legal in 36 states and the District of Columbia.Yet experts in the many specialties in which medical marijuana is said to be helpful have only rarely been able to demonstrate its purported benefits in well-designed scientific studies. And they caution that what is now being legally sold as medicinal marijuana in dispensaries throughout the country is anything but the safe, pure substance Americans commonly expect when they are treated with licensed medications.For example, in Oregon, where both recreational and medicinal marijuana can be sold legally, all recreational marijuana must be tested for pesticides and solvents, but such tests are not required for most medical marijuana, an audit by the Secretary of State published in January 2019 showed. The Oregon Health Authority does not require tests for heavy metals and microbes that might sicken users.Indeed, most of the same health concerns raised decades ago about using marijuana therapeutically are still unresolved, even as the potency of the plant’s intoxicating ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol, best known as THC, has increased fivefold. Furthermore, exclusive medical use is uncommon; in a Canadian study of 709 medical users, 80.6 percent also reported using marijuana recreationally.“People are using a medical excuse for their recreational marijuana habit,” said Dr. Kenneth Finn, a pain management specialist in Colorado Springs and editor of a new, 554-page professional book on the subject, “Cannabis in Medicine: An Evidence-Based Approach.”Proponents of medical marijuana argue that cannabis is relatively safe and less expensive than licensed pharmaceuticals and is often used for conditions for which effective therapies are lacking or inadequate. Opponents say that what is most lacking are standardized marijuana products and randomized controlled clinical trials that can clearly establish benefits and risks.The evidence — or lack thereof — of health benefits that can be reliably attributed to smoking, vaping or ingesting marijuana, even in its purest form, is described in great detail in Dr. Finn’s book. “Components of the cannabis plant can help in various conditions, but that’s not what people are buying in stores,” he said in an interview. “Let’s do the research on purified, natural, noncontaminated cannabinoids,” as the various potentially therapeutic chemicals in marijuana are called.Three such substances have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. One, Epidiolex, a cannabidiol-based liquid medication, is approved to treat two forms of severe childhood epilepsy. The others, dronabinol (Marinol, Syndros) and nabilone (Cesamet), are pills used to curb nausea in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and to stimulate appetite in AIDS patients with wasting syndrome.Another marijuana-based drug, nabiximols (Sativex), is available in Canada and several European countries to treat spasticity and nerve pain in patients with multiple sclerosis.Medicinal cannabis is hardly a new therapeutic agent. It was widely used as a patent medicine in the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries and was listed in the United States Pharmacopoeia until passage of the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937 rendered it illegal.Then a federal law in 1970 made it a Schedule 1 controlled substance, which greatly restricted access to marijuana for legitimate research. Also complicating attempts to establish medical usefulness is that plants like marijuana contain hundreds of active chemicals, the amounts of which can vary greatly from batch to batch. Unless researchers can study purified substances in known quantities, conclusions about benefits and risks are highly unreliable.That said, as recounted in Dr. Finn’s book, here are some conclusions reached by experts about the role of medical marijuana in their respective fields:Pain ManagementPeople using marijuana for pain relief do not reduce their dependence on opioids. In fact, Dr. Finn said, “patients on narcotics who also use marijuana for pain still report their pain level to be 10 on a scale of 1 to 10.” Authors of the chapter on pain, Dr. Peter R. Wilson, pain specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and Dr. Sanjog Pangarkar of the Greater Los Angeles V.A. Healthcare Service, concluded, “Cannabis itself does not produce analgesia and paradoxically might interfere with opioid analgesia.” A 2019 study of 450 adults in the Journal of Addiction Medicine found that medical marijuana not only failed to relieve patients’ pain, it increased their risk of anxiety, depression and substance abuse.Multiple SclerosisDr. Allen C. Bowling, neurologist at the NeuroHealth Institute in Englewood, Colo., noted that while marijuana has been extensively studied as a treatment for multiple sclerosis, the results of randomized clinical trials have been inconsistent. The trials overall showed some but limited effectiveness, and in one of the largest and longest trials, the placebo performed better in treating spasticity, pain and bladder dysfunction, Dr. Bowling wrote. Most trials used pharmaceutical-grade cannabis that is not available in dispensaries.GlaucomaThe study suggesting marijuana could reduce the risk of glaucoma dates back to 1970. Indeed, THC does lower damaging pressure inside the eye, but as Drs. Finny T. John and Jean R. Hausheer, ophthalmologists at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, wrote, “to achieve therapeutic levels of marijuana in the bloodstream to treat glaucoma, an individual would need to smoke approximately six to eight times a day,” at which point the person “would likely be physically and mentally unable to perform tasks requiring attention and focus,” like working and driving. The major eye care medical societies have put thumbs down on marijuana to treat glaucoma.Allison Karst, a psychiatric pharmacy specialist at the V.A. Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, who reviewed the benefits and risks of medical marijuana, concluded that marijuana can have “a negative effect on mental health and neurological function,” including worsening symptoms of PTSD and bipolar disorder.Dr. Karst also cited one study showing that only 17 percent of edible cannabis products were accurately labeled. In an email she wrote that the lack of regulation “leads to difficulty extrapolating available evidence to various products on the consumer market given the differences in chemical composition and purity.” She cautioned the public to weigh “both potential benefits and risks,” to which I would add caveat emptor — buyer beware.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story

#masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesRisk Near YouVaccine RolloutNew Variants TrackerAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyMelee Near University of Colorado Boulder Injures 3 OfficersAn informal gathering that swelled to as many as 800 people, most of whom were not wearing masks or social distancing, turned violent on Saturday, officials said.Over 100 people started running toward officers before tear gas was used on Saturday night, Chief Maris Herold of the Boulder Police Department said.Credit…Joaquin ArmstrongMarch 7, 2021, 8:03 p.m. ETBOULDER, Colo. — A large gathering that turned into a melee near the University of Colorado Boulder on Saturday evening left multiple students bleeding and tear-gassed, at least two vehicles damaged and three SWAT officers injured, the police said.The officers were hurt as they tried to disperse the crowd in the University Hill neighborhood of Boulder. The officers were hit with bricks and rocks and sustained minor injuries, the Boulder Police Department said on Twitter, and the windshield of an armored car deployed to the scene was shattered.Over 100 people started running toward the officers before tear gas was used, the city’s police chief, Maris Herold, said at a news conference on Sunday. The crowd was at its largest at about 7 p.m., involving as many as 800 people, the chief said.Most of the attendees were not taking precautions against the coronavirus like social distancing or wearing masks. Infectious disease experts have raised concerns that as the weather warms and local restrictions ease, social gatherings and spring break trips could cause a surge in coronavirus cases.The Boulder County district attorney, Michael T. Dougherty, said the episode was a “tremendous setback” in the city’s efforts to fight the pandemic. Jeff Zayach, the county’s public health director, called the lack of mask-wearing and social distancing “shocking and disturbing.”Colorado recently reached 6,000 deaths from Covid-19, according to a New York Times database.The university said it was “aware of a large party on University Hill on Saturday evening and allegations of violence toward police officers responding to the scene.”“We condemn this conduct,” it said, adding that “it is unacceptable and irresponsible particularly in light of the volume of training, communication and enforcement” about coronavirus restrictions.The neighborhood, known as the Hill, is home to bars and many of the university’s fraternity and sorority houses. Anna Haynes, the editor in chief of the CU Independent, a student-run news site, wrote in The New York Times last year, “It’s the place you go to party, pandemic or not.”Students who live in the neighborhood said people were having small gatherings in their yards on Saturday to enjoy a warm day after having been cooped up by the cold weather and coronavirus restrictions.But as videos of the scene were posted on social media, people who didn’t live there or were unaffiliated with the university, such as high school students, began gathering in the street.The Coronavirus Outbreak

#masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }At HomeFall in Love: With TenorsConsider: Miniature GroceriesSpend 24 Hours: With Andra DayGet: A Wildlife CameraAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyEscape Your Reality With Role-Playing GamesLet the good times roll, as old-school tabletop R.P.G.s have taken off online.Credit…Andrea ChronopoulosMarch 6, 2021, 11:41 p.m. ETRecently, a wizard, a druid, a cleric, a ranger, an artificer and a couple of bards met on Zoom. The bards fought. The druid baked cookies. The cleric, wearing nifty resin dragon horns, took hallucinogenic mushrooms. Together they explored candy-coated barracks, searching for an elusive ; cat jokes crowded the chat.This was an average evening for Mike Sell, a professor of English at Indiana University of Pennsylvania who moonlights as an online game master. On Tuesdays, he gathers friends, colleagues, partners and kids and has them ramble, remotely, through his role-playing game, Curse of the Sugarplum Fairy, a madcap riff on “The Nutcracker” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Tagline: “Who can take a rainbow and wrap it in a scream?”Modern role-playing games debuted in the mid-1970s, when Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson invented Dungeons & Dragons. The form has since proliferated — if you can imagine a genre (western, mystery, sci-fi) or a peril (zombies, rogue A.I., chthonic gods), it has probably inspired a game. A hybrid of theater, make-believe, board games and fan fiction, R.P.G.s encourage players to create a story collaboratively as they play.“Tabletop role playing is the most powerful, most versatile form of interactive narrative we have by a mile,” said Nicholas Fortugno, who directs the digital game design program at Long Island University. “Nothing touches it.”R.P.G.s have always been a relatively niche hobby, which is understandable. A typical session involves considerably more effort and imagination than, say, Scrabble. And who dresses up for Monopoly? But when lockdowns made in-person activities risky, these games, began to proliferate online, attracting new players and reviving interest among veteran, dice-clutching hands.Not your nerdy teenager’s Dungeons & Dragons.Last March, when rolling lockdowns began, Roll20, one of many sites that host R.P.G.s online, experienced so many new-user requests (an 840 percent spike, in fact) that its servers assumed it was some kind of cyberattack, said Dean Bigbee, the site’s chief operating officer. Within a year, the site has added three million new users, for a total of eight million. Representatives of similar sites like World Anvil and Role Gate also reported surges.The revenue of Dungeons & Dragons, which still commands the largest market share of R.P.G.s, grew by 33 percent in the past year. Usage of its dedicated website, D&D Beyond, doubled. “It was always growing, but nowhere near that,” said Ray Winninger, the executive producer in charge of the of Dungeons & Dragons studio. According to Mr. Winninger’s colleague Liz Schuh, the director of product management for Dungeons & Dragons, “Virtual play has exploded.” Which means Zoom is the new finished basement.In a typical game, online or off, the game master will present the players with a situation — an encounter with a kobold, say. Each player decides how his or her characters should respond, often rolling dice to determine the success of each maneuver. As these games are cooperative, not competitive, players don’t vie against one another. (Smack talking? Purely optional.) So this is pandemic-friendly escapism that allows your friends to escape with you. Unless a mind flayer takes them out first.Over the past five years, tabletop R.P.G.s — a designation that differentiates them from immense multiplayer online games like World of Warcraft — have edged a little closer to the mainstream, becoming the kind of hobby a person could now admit to in mixed company. (Thirty-nine percent of Dungeons & Dragons players identify as female.) Vin Diesel, Terry Crews and Drew Barrymore have all outed themselves as R.P.G. gamers, and the actor Joe Manganiello (“True Blood”) hosts a celebrity campaign in his basement. The streaming site Twitch has more than 100 channels devoted to Dungeons & Dragons. Critical Role, a live-play campaign executed by voice actors, has become a YouTube hit that recently raised more than $11 million for an animated special. R.P.G.s have also inspired dozens of podcasts, both fictional and live play, like “The Adventure Zone” and “You Meet in a Tavern.” The Netflix show “Stranger Things” has made Dungeons & Dragons a central theme: The boy characters play the game and use its vocabulary to understand their town’s bizarre goings-on. (You can even buy a “Stranger Things”-inspired D&D starter set.)From the basement to Zoom.Before the pandemic, when people already seemed to live mostly online, tabletop R.P.G.s were seen as a respite from multiscreen life, a more artisanal and analog way to connect. “The ability to get together with friends and put on a show, that’s a pretty amazing experience,” Mr. Sell said.During lockdown, when the ability to get together went away, RPGs stayed. Many of the most popular games had already found a home online. Sites and apps like Roll20, Role Gate, World Anvil, Astral, Fantasy Grounds and D&D Beyond have created platforms to make online play possible. Many have tools — like character generators — that simplify a campaign.R.P.G.s don’t require tactile experience (apologies to those who hand-paints miniatures for their characters), so they adapt well to online play. “Almost everything that happens in Dungeons & Dragons happens in your imagination,” Mr. Winninger said. “It makes the transition to virtual play easier.”If you have Wi-Fi, you’re in, and you don’t even need dice: Wizards of the Coast has a page that will roll the dice for you virtually. Other sites feature game enhancements, like virtual maps, and the ability to sync your game to a selection of creepy music. Want to run your own game? Gather a group on Zoom, Skype or Discord. Don’t have any like-minded friends? Wizards of the Coast released the Yawning Portal, a site that matches players with virtual games. Other sites run message boards and marketplaces that connect individuals with groups and groups with games masters. Newbies can easily find experienced players to show them the ropes and chains and dimensional shackles. After-school programs and local libraries run games catering to children and teenagers.Building a bridge for the social divide.And yet, we lose something when we can’t play in person or share Cheetos. Because R.P.G.s depends on storytelling, the experience dwindles when we’re no longer face to face with our fellow tellers. “It’s all about looking at people in the eye and performing with your body,” Mr. Fortugno said. “When you lose all of that, the game becomes more stilted.”But questing through darkened forests or perilous caves from the comfort of your couch can still thrill. And because R.P.G.s have an inherent structure and turn-taking, they may offer more natural engagement than the average Zoom cocktail hour. Having a mutual goal — maiden rescuing, treasure acquiring, sphere of annihilation avoidance — makes the conversation flow. And players can now meet across the country and across the continents.Avery Alder, a game designer (Monsterhearts 2, Dream Askew) who lives in rural British Columbia, used to host weekly in-person role-playing games in a nearby post-and-beam town hall. The pandemic ended that, but she still plays when work and child care allow, which isn’t often. She argues that maybe we need R.P.G.s now more than ever.“In a year when people are feeling a big, big sense of fear and scarcity and gloom, it’s really important to be imagining other possibilities,” she said. “Even if you’re telling stories about a fantasy world, you’re still telling stories about exploration, connection, hope.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story

SharecloseShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingimage copyrightEPATibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine while urging others eligible to “take this injection”. “This is very very helpful, very good,” he said as he was given the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab at a facility in the Indian city of Dharamsala on Saturday.The Dalai Lama had enrolled himself to be vaccinated, officials said. India launched its vaccination drive on 16 January, but it was limited to healthcare workers and frontline staff.Since 1 March, however, the scheme has been extended to people aged over 60 and those between the ages of 45 and 59 with underlying illnesses.What is the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine?Seven billion people ‘need a sense of oneness’Receiving his first shot in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, the Dalai Lama said people needed to be vaccinated to “prevent some serious problems”.image copyrightEPAThe chief medical officer of Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, Dr Gurdarshan Gupta, said the Dalai Lama had offered to visit the vaccination centre “like a common man”, Reuters news agency reported. “We arranged the session in the morning, considering the security concern,” he added. Speaking to the BBC last year, the Dalai Lama said the pandemic had promoted a “sense of concern, a more compassionate feeling”. The Indian government aims to cover 300 million “priority people” with its vaccination drive by the end of July.The country’s drugs regulator has given the green light to two vaccines – one developed by AstraZeneca with Oxford University (Covishield) and one by Indian firm Bharat Biotech (Covaxin).Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 70, was among the first to get his vaccine shot.Since the pandemic began, India has confirmed more than 11 million cases and over 157,000 deaths.Much of India has reported a sharp fall in cases recently – with daily infections for the county falling to less than 20,000 from a peak of over 90,000 in September.But a handful of states have recently reported a sharp increase in the number of cases.

#masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }At HomeFall in Love: With TenorsConsider: Miniature GroceriesSpend 24 Hours: With Andra DayGet: A Wildlife CameraAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyAdd Color and Whimsy to Your Outdoor LandscapeIce ornaments reflect winter’s light, like momentary, sun-catching crystals.Credit…Erica Gannett for The New York TimesMarch 6, 2021, 11:22 p.m. ETAt the close of a bruising winter, find ephemeral beauty with these easy-to-make homemade ice suncatchers. These mini ice sculptures, which you can fill with berries, seeds, leaves, sliced fruit or even materials from the craft box, reflect the light, like momentary, sun-catching crystals. You can make them and freeze them outside, in suitably cold temperatures, but they can also be made in your freezer.Ice suncatchers can be constructed in nearly any size or shape. An aluminum pie plate produces one large, round, flat ornament. A Bundt pan creates a wreath-shaped ornament, which can be hung from heavy outdoor branches. Silicone ice molds, available in different shapes and sizes, offer three-dimensional suncatchers. You can also use cookie cutters for diverse shapes (wrap the bottom of the cutter in plastic wrap so that the water stays in place as it’s freezing). For a family activity, use a muffin tin and make a six or 12 at a time; this way, each family member can design his or her own.Collecting the materials to freeze in the suncatchers is part of the fun. Outside, look for natural materials, like pine needles, small sticks, acorns, pine cones, dried leaves and holly. Use the backyard or local park as your source, selecting items with ample color and texture.Inside your home, thinly sliced citrus, fresh cranberries and even dehydrated apple or pear are worthy fridge and pantry substitutes. (But avoid foods like raisins, which are poisonous to dogs, and dried beans, which are poisonous to birds). If you prefer to use man-made materials, consider sequins, buttons, rhinestones, pieces of ribbon and even glitter. Be sure to place the finished suncatchers that contain nonnatural materials in places where you can easily collect the items when they melt.For an ice sculpture that draws birds, use birdseed, which birds can find when the melt begins. If you plan to do this, however, you will want to make sure to purchase a type of seed that is appropriate for your region. The National Audubon Society has resources available online about native birds and purchasing birdseed (www.audubon.com).Here’s how to make ice suncatchers at home.Credit…Erica Gannett for The New York TimesMaterials:Large pot filled with waterA six- or 12-muffin tin, Bundt pan, plastic Tupperware containers, an aluminum pie tin, cookie cutters or silicone ice moldsButcher’s twine or colored stringNatural materials for filling, like acorns, winterberries, sliced citrus and pine needlesMan-made materials for filling, like sequins, buttons, glitter and rhinestones (optional)Power drill with small drill bit (optional)Step 1For the clearest ice suncatcher possible, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and then allow it to cool. Boiling water releases the trapped gasses, like nitrogen and oxygen, which cause cloudiness in ice.Credit…Erica Gannett for The New York TimesStep 2Place your decorative items at the bottom of the container you plan to use, layering them on top of one another. If you plan to use fruit, make sure that the slice is lying flat so that the flesh — and not the peel — is visible. The bottom of the vessel will become the ornament’s front, so put the brightest and best items facedown at the bottom. Birdseed suncatchers should contain only birdseed and nothing else.Step 3Ladle or pour cooled water into the containers until the items are just covered. It’s OK if a few items stick out from the water’s surface.Credit…Erica Gannett for The New York TimesStep 4Place a looped piece of twine into the suncatcher so that it freezes into place. Position the string in the center of the mold and as far down into the water as you can. (If your suncatcher is flat, you can also add the string after it has frozen, by drilling a hole into the ornament with a power drill and a small bit. If you are using a Bundt pan, wait until the ornament has frozen and tie the string around the center to hang.)Step 5Depending on the weather, you can either bring the composed suncatcher outside to set or place them in your freezer. (Remember, water freezes at 32 degrees). Deep suncatchers, made in containers like muffin tins, will take longer to set than shallow ones. The weather will affect the setting time, but you can expect that it will take three to four hours.Credit…Erica Gannett for The New York TimesStep 6Once the suncatchers are frozen solid, like ice cubes, remove them from the mold either by pressing on one side of the ice or by dipping the bottom of the container in hot water. Do not try to pull the suncatcher out by its string, as the pressure is likely to dislodge the string from the ice.Step 7Place the suncatchers in a visible spot so that you can enjoy watching them slowly disappear. A sunny spot is optimal if you want more reflection, but placing the finished ornaments in the shade will keep them intact longer. Completed suncatchers can last from a few hours to a few days, depending on the weather.Credit…Erica Gannett for The New York TimesAdvertisementContinue reading the main story

#masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }At HomeFall in Love: With TenorsConsider: Miniature GroceriesSpend 24 Hours: With Andra DayGet: A Wildlife CameraAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyHave Fun With Fungi and Say Goodbye With KafkaThis week, attend an art lecture, listen to a conversation with the novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen or celebrate Deaf History Month.Credit…Andrea ChronopoulosEmma Grillo and March 6, 2021, 10:42 p.m. ETHere is a sampling of the week’s events and how to tune in (all times are Eastern). Note that events are subject to change after publication.MondayExplore stories of Manhattan’s Chinatown during the pandemic in an online exhibition from Poster House, a museum devoted to the art of posters. Last March 15, Grace Young, a culinary historian and cookbook author, and Dan Ahn, a photographer and videographer, interviewed business and restaurant owners in the neighborhood. The project, which documents the wide-ranging toll the virus crisis has taken on Chinatown, is available to view for free on Poster House’s website.When AnytimeWhere posterhouse.org/special-project/corona-virus-chinatown-storiesTuesdayCelebrate Indigenous female chefs with a cooking class from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and the University of Minnesota’s Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives Institute. Each month, from February to July, as part of an initiative sponsored by the Annual Conference on Native American Nutrition, an Indigenous female chef shares a recipe and her culinary expertise. This month, Kim Tilsen-Brave Heart, an enrolled citizen of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, and an owner and the executive chef of Etiquette Catering Company, will prepare slow-roasted buffalo and blackberry wojapi, a berry sauce, over hasselback squash with an apple cider vinegar reduction. This event is free, and attendance is capped at 1,000.When 1 p.m.Where hfhl.umn.edu/indigenouschefsJoin the Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen for a discussion about his new novel, “The Committed,” with the fellow writer Min Jin Lee. Mr. Nguyen will take viewers into the pages of his latest book and answer audience questions. Admission, presented by Left Bank Books and Grove Press, requires the purchase of a copy of the book.When 8 p.m.Whereleft-bank.com/event/viet-thanh-nguyen-committedWednesdayCommemorate Deaf History Month with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston’s “A.S.L. Night,” which celebrates the art, language and culture of the deaf community. The evening will include performances, art activities and a museum tour, all presented in American Sign Language by deaf artists, performers and tour guides. Voice interpretation and open captions will also be available. The event, which is in partnership with DEAF, Inc., the Boston Children’s Hospital Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program and the Massachusetts State Association of the Deaf, is free.When 7 p.m.Where mfa.org/event/community-celebrations/asl-night?event=9599Watch a virtual reading of selected short stories about fame and infamy, hosted by the writer, performer and video-maker Dylan Marron. The actors Bryan Cranston, Michelle Buteau, Moses Ingram, Miriam Shor and others will perform pieces by Jade Jones, Tania James, Kenneth Calhoun and Fiona Maazel. Tickets to this prerecorded event, presented by Symphony Space, are $15.When 7:30 p.m.Where symphonyspace.org/events/virtual-selected-shorts-fame-infamy-with-dylan-marronThursdayListen to a conversation with the artist Yuri Shimojo, whose series, “Memento Mori,” which is dedicated to the people who died during the earthquake, tsunami and resulting Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, will have its United States premiere at Praise Shadows Art Gallery in Brookline, Mass. On the 10th anniversary of the disaster, Ms. Shimojo will speak with Yng-Ru Chen, the founder of the gallery, and Gennifer Weisenfeld, a professor of art, art history and visual studies at Duke University, about resilience in times of crisis, including during the coronavirus pandemic. This event, which is presented by the Duke University Alumni Association, is free. Registration is required.When 8 p.m.Where rsvp.duke.edu/d/cjqpbyFridayExplore the biodiversity of macrofungi in a talk with the mushroom expert Roy Halling, presented by the New York Botanical Garden. Dr. Halling, who is an emeritus curator of mycology at the botanical garden, will share a few highlights from his career, which includes describing over 80 new fungi species, as well as answer questions about macrofungi, such as mushrooms and other large fungi species, and their importance in ecosystems. This event is free.When 11 a.m.Where nybg.org/event/a-bolete-story-50-years-of-macrofungiSaturdaySing along with a family-friendly musical event presented by Carnegie Hall. The teaching artist Emily Eagen and the Grammy-nominated singer Falguni Shah, known as Falu, will be joined by the guest musician Deep Singh in a performance showcasing some of the rhythms of India with songs like “Allahoo” and Ms. Shah’s own “Pots and Pans.” This free event is open to all, but it will focus on inspiring children 2 to 5 to learn about music. A recording of the event will be available for on-demand viewing on Carnegie Hall’s website.When 10 a.m.Where Carnegie Hall’s Facebook and YouTube pagesCredit…Andrea ChronopoulosSundayWatch a performance of “Letter to My Father” by Franz Kafka, based on a letter an ailing Kafka wrote to his own father. This interactive production, presented by the M-34 company and developed by James Rutherford and Michael Guagno, is directed by Mr. Rutherford and performed by Mr. Guagno. Audience members will have the option to switch between camera angles and interfaces to create a personalized viewing experience. This event is free, but registration is required.When 3 p.m.Where m-34.org/kafkaListen to a musical performance by the Music Institute of Chicago Chorale and nearly 40 international singers. Conducted by Daniel Wallenberg, this event will feature performers from Argentina, Britain, France and other countries, and include works by Beethoven, William Byrd, Morten Lauridsen and more. Tickets to this concert, which is premiering live but includes prerecorded songs, are free. Registration closes four hours before the event and is required.When 3 p.m.Where musicinst.org/march14-choraleAdvertisementContinue reading the main story

#masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesRisk Near YouVaccine RolloutNew Variants TrackerAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story‘At Your Age, It’s the Vaccine or the Grave’A nurse in Baton Rouge has been on a crusade to overcome resistance among older African-Americans unwilling to take the coronavirus vaccine.Flossie West, 73, at the East Baton Rouge Council on Aging after receiving a shot of the coronavirus vaccine. “I’m just not interested because everyone tells me the virus is a hoax,” she had said earlier.Credit…Abdul Aziz for The New York TimesMarch 6, 2021, 1:52 p.m. ETBATON ROUGE, La — Flossie West was not at all interested in taking the coronavirus vaccine.Carla Brown, the nurse overseeing her care, was determined to change her mind.Ms. West, 73, has ovarian cancer, congestive heart failure and breathing difficulties — conditions that place her at grave risk should she contract the virus. As it is, Covid-19 has killed far too many of her neighbors in Mid-City, a low-rise, predominantly Black community that sprawls to the east of the Louisiana state capital.But Ms. West’s skepticism about the new vaccines overshadowed her fears of Covid-19. “I’m just not interested because everyone tells me the virus is a hoax,” Ms. West said. “And besides, that shot is going to make me more sick than I already am.”On Thursday morning, Ms. Brown, 62, breezed into Ms. West’s apartment and delivered a stern lecture: The virus is real, the vaccines are harmless and Ms. West should get out of bed, grab her oxygen tank and get into her car.“I’ll be darned if I’m going to let this coronavirus take you,” she said.In recent weeks, Ms. Brown has been frenetically working to persuade her patients to get inoculated, and her one-woman campaign provides a glimpse into the obstacles that have contributed to the troublingly low rates of vaccination in the Black community.Even as vaccine supplies become more plentiful, African-Americans are being inoculated at half the rate of whites, according to an analysis by The New York Times. The disparities are especially alarming given the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on communities of color, who have been dying at twice the rate of whites.Success! Flossie West received her first dose of the Moderna vaccine.Credit…Abdul Aziz for The New York TimesMs. Brown’s mission is fueled by personal loss. “My husband survived being shot in the head, and cancer twice, only to die from Covid-19,” she said. Credit…Abdul Aziz for The New York TimesThe racial gap in vaccination rates is no less stark in Louisiana, where African-Americans make up 32 percent of the population but just 23 percent of those who have been vaccinated.Part of the problem is access. In Baton Rouge, the majority of mass vaccination sites are in white areas of the city, creating logistical challenges for older and poorer residents in Black neighborhoods like Mid-City who often lack access to transportation. Older residents have also been thwarted by online appointment systems that can be daunting for those without computers, smartphones or speedy internet connections.But much of the racial disparity in vaccination rates, experts say, can be tied to a longstanding mistrust of medical institutions among African-Americans. Many Baton Rouge residents can readily cite the history of abuse: starting with the eugenics campaigns that forcibly sterilized Black women for nearly half of the 20th century, and the notorious government-run Tuskegee experiments in Alabama that withheld penicillin from hundreds of Black men with syphilis, some of whom later died of the disease.“The distrust among Black Americans comes from a real place and to pretend it doesn’t exist or to question whether it’s rational is a recipe for failure,” said Thomas A. LaVeist, an expert on health equity and dean of the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University. Dr. LaVeist has been advising Louisiana officials on ways to increase vaccination rates.Seniors arrived at the East Baton Rouge Council on Aging to receive the vaccine.Credit…Abdul Aziz for The New York TimesRobbie Christian, a pharmacist, prepared to administer a dose of the Moderna vaccine at the Council on Aging. Credit…Abdul Aziz for The New York TimesMs. Brown, 62, the hospice nurse, has a good idea about how to change the minds of vaccine skeptics: encouraging one-on-one conversations with respected figures in the Black community who can address the misgivings and provide reliable information while acknowledging what she describes as the scars of inherited trauma. “If you look back at our history, we have been lied to and there has been a lot racial pain so it’s all about building trust,” she said.The Coronavirus Outbreak

#masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesRisk Near YouVaccine RolloutNew Variants TrackerAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyRestaurant Dining and Mask Use Linked to Virus SpreadIn U.S. counties without mask requirements last year, or in which restaurants reopened, infections and death rates rose.“You have decreases in cases and deaths when you wear masks, and you have increases in cases and deaths when you have in-person restaurant dining,” Dr. Rachel Walensky, the C.D.C. director, said Friday.Credit…Ringo H.W. Chiu/Associated PressMarch 5, 2021, 5:32 p.m. ETEven as officials in Texas and Mississippi lifted statewide mask mandates, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday offered fresh evidence of the importance of face coverings, reporting that mask-wearing mandates were linked to fewer infections with the coronavirus and Covid-19 deaths in counties across the United States.Federal researchers also found that counties opening restaurants for on-premises dining — indoors or outdoors — saw a rise in daily infections about six weeks later, and an increase in Covid-19 death rates about two months later.The study does not prove cause and effect, but the findings square with other research showing that masks prevent infection and that indoor spaces foster the spread of the virus through aerosols, tiny respiratory particles that linger in the air.“You have decreases in cases and deaths when you wear masks, and you have increases in cases and deaths when you have in-person restaurant dining,” Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the director of the C.D.C., said on Friday. “And so we would advocate for policies, certainly while we’re at this plateau of a high number of cases, that would listen to that public health science.”The findings come as city and state officials nationwide grapple with growing pressure to reopen schools and businesses amid falling rates of new cases and deaths. Officials have recently permitted limited indoor dining in New York City. On Thursday, Connecticut’s governor said the state would be ending capacity limits later this month on restaurants, gyms and offices. Masks are still required in both locales.“The study is not surprising,” said Joseph Allen, an associate professor at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the university’s Healthy Buildings program. “What’s surprising is that we see some states ignoring all of the evidence and opening up quickly, and removing mask mandates and opening full dining.”Other researchers said the new study confirmed the idea that viral transmission often takes place through the air, that physical distancing may not be sufficient to halt the spread in some settings, and that masks at least partly block airborne particles.President Biden’s health advisers have said in recent days that now is not the time to relax. As of Thursday, the seven-day average of new cases was still 62,924 a day, according to a database maintained by The New York Times.While that figure is down 14 percent from two weeks earlier, new cases remain near the peaks reported last summer. Though fatalities have started falling, in part because of the vaccination campaigns at nursing homes, it remains routine for 2,000 deaths to be reported in a single day.Mr. Biden on Wednesday criticized the decisions by the governors of Texas and Mississippi to lift statewide mask mandates and reopen businesses without restrictions, calling the plans “a big mistake” that reflected “Neanderthal thinking.”The president, who has asked Americans to wear masks during his first 100 days in office, said it was critical for public officials to follow the guidance of doctors and public health leaders as the coronavirus vaccination campaign gains momentum. As of Thursday, about 54 million people had received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.“It may seem tempting, in the face of all of this progress, to try to rush back to normalcy as if the virus is in the rearview mirror,” Andy Slavitt, a White House adviser on the pandemic, said on Friday. “It’s not.”Diners in San Antonio on Wednesday. Credit…Eric Gay/Associated PressC.D.C. researchers examined the associations between mask mandates, indoor or outdoor restaurant dining, and coronavirus infections and deaths last year between March 1 and Dec. 31. The agency relied on county-level data from state government websites and measured daily percentage change in coronavirus cases and deaths.The Coronavirus Outbreak