Dr. Brij Bhambi's stern warning on the pandemic: antivaxers are perpetuating the pandemic by playing Russian roulette with a killer virus, creating an "arsonist inferno" as the truly sick are crowded out of hospitals now full with the unvaccinated

 Bakersfield Observed is proud to present another opinion essay from Dr. Brij Bhambi, local cardiologist, head of Centric Health and one of the physician-owners of Bakersfield Heart Hospital.

"In humanity’s battle against Covid-19, the development of highly effective and safe vaccines, in a record time, has rightly been hailed as a miracle of science. The continued skepticism of some notwithstanding, there is no treatment that has this widely been studied in entire human history. Billions of dosages have been administered with a minuscule number of adverse effects.

 The alternative reality in the recesses of dark web has its own narrative, that by design, is built on misinformation and mischief.

 The vaccines were intended to be our ticket out of pandemic. Vaccines are effective shields that lend time limited immunity. These shields are not completely impervious or timeless against the virus.

But the vaccine generated immunity would have been effective and durable enough to give us time to beat the virus for good.

 The success was predicated on near universal adoption of vaccine, near simultaneously. The spectacular apathy of the leadership to coordinate a global response worked in favor of the virus. It took the “near simultaneous” out of equation.

 Logistics got even murkier near home.

 The initial disequilibrium between demand and supply was soon remedied and vaccine abundance hit the stubborn wall of vaccine resistance.

 Rest is history.

 The waning immunity among the earlier vaccinated and virus friendly behavior of vaccine resistant are contriving now to expand vulnerability all over again. Hospitals are bursting at seams and virus is killing in high numbers, again.

 The booster shots among the willing will temporarily shrink the susceptible population base.

 The overriding concern persists.

 This vicious cycle will continue to play ceaselessly as waning immunity meets vaccine resistant again.  And again!

 A rendezvous guaranteed by the antivaxxers.

 The pandemic will perpetuate, with luck only at an elevated endemic level.

 Mere optimism wont reduce this threat to flu level anytime soon.

 When mischief is given a mulligan, society will be compelled to pick up the tab.

 As the virus ravages and stench of death thickens, the unhinged celebrate their liberties, un-infringed.

The healthcare workers drag their beat up carcasses to the service of sick by choice, as truly sick are crowded out.

 Death mounts, life expectancy continues to fall. Unattended strokes and heart attacks die a preventable death.

 The nation rightfully convulsed with a collective shock when 13 marines were massacred in a botched exit from Afghanistan.

 A daily death of 1300+ draws a collective yawn. Dead amidst death is a lost “sense of proportion”.

 A zombie nation indifferent to its own.

The hollow vaccine mandates encourage some to find religion. Web based testimonials affirm exemptions and scoundrels find refuge.

There is no real medical exception to vaccine other than past history of vaccine induced Guillain Barre syndrome. Or in rare occurrences, a demonstrated allergy to vaccine components. But the diligent are not wary, they will hustle and invent any number of health based exceptions.

 Mandate is an exercise in mockery.

 "Healthcare workers are reaching a breaking point. They are mercilessly exposed to the virus through the actions of vaccine resistant. There is a palpable fear and building frustration.

Then there is guilt.

We fail Hippocratic oath when we lend silent acquiescence to the spread of infection. We make mockery of the oath when we allow the unvaccinated to kill the vulnerable.

This death and killing has to stop.

And yes, our lives matter too.

"We can’t be detached spectators to this arsonist inferno. We can’t volunteer to be a vassal for an invasive and relentlessly proliferative virus.

We can’t deliberately usher infection home.

We can’t be coerced in to a Russian roulette, attending to infection seekers by choice.

An interesting imposition and infringement on our health and liberties, to save the immortal and suicidal.

Is sanity forbidden?

Is commonsense comatose?

Line in the sand begs to be drawn.

This conversation is completely respectful to political and religious preferences. The virus, however, is totally agnostic.

Get vaccinated.

"Stop perpetuating the pandemic.

The newly vaccinated wake up and head out to dine after a year of hunkering down, a coalition vaccinates farmworkers in Delano and Greyhound wants to move to the Amtrak station

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other company or publication.

 * ... OUT AND ABOUT: Were you among those who go out this weekend, perhaps taking in dinner at a local restaurant, after a year of hunkering down? It was the thing to do: gather up friends who have been vaccinated and hit the town, or at the very least head to an intimate dinner party. One thing is for sure: our local 

eateries are on fire: big crowds were spotted at Mexicali and the Starlite Lounge and other popular local restaurants throughout the city. To be sure Covid is not behind us, but the level of confidence has grown where newly vaccinated couples are braving the elements to dine out. 

 * ... WHAT WE WILL MISS: For sure there will be things we will miss about hunkering down at home: endless days working in T-shirts and pajamas, family time that found a new rhythm during the lockdown, home cooking and a reluctant relaxation that came with the knowledge that you had no where to go but home. In his Sunday piece in The Bakersfield Californian, columnist Bob Price put it this way: "Some things we'll hang on to," he noted. "Home gyms, hiking, garage ping pong, cooking, board games. Appreciation for local small businesses. The willingness to sacrifice."

 * ... GOOD NEWS: The Greyhound bus station downtown has always been an eyesore: dirty, neglected and a gathering spot for newly released prisoners. But now, after years of effort, it looks like Greyhound is finally packing up its bags and leaving for greener pastures. This week, the City Council at its Wednesday  will consider a deal that would allow Greyhound to lease space at the Amtrak Station. "Due to an evolving business climate, Greyhound staff determined they no longer have a need for a facility of that size. City staff determined the relocation of Greyhound bus services to the existing city-owned Amtrak Station site achieves various major objectives of the City Council," according to a city memo. The property, located at G and 18th streets, is ideal for a multi purpose facility to compliment the Padre Hotel and the Bitwise building.

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "I keep changing the wifi password to make sure that my wife always needs me."

 * ... KATIE BARTON: Katie Barton has been named general manager for American General Media's group of radio stations after serving as director of sales and marketing. The appointment of Barton was part of AGM's move to shuffle leadership responsibilities for its stations in California and New Mexico. In addition Rich Watson, currently general manager of AGM's properties in the Santa Maria area, has been appointed regional manager of AGM California, overseeing the station groups in Bakersfield, San Louis Obispo and Santa Maria.

 

 * ... COVID VACCINATIONS: Hats off to local defense attorney David Torres and other volunteers who spent their Saturday coordinating Covid vaccines for farmworkers. In all, five groups came together to organize a mass vaccination site in Delano: the United Farm Workers, the UFW Foundation, the Cesar Chavez Foundation, the Latino COVID Task Force and the County of Kern. Torres was among the volunteers who spent their day making sure vaccinations reached those who work in the fields.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this shot of the coffee shop of the old Royal Palms Motel around 1965. Compliments of the Kern County of Old Facebook page.

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: The Kern County of Old page also served up this nugget, date uncertain, of police officers parading with their canines.

Bakersfield high on the list of cities with the most pedestrian deaths, Jolie Brouttier nominated for Teacher of the Year and are we finally nearing the end of the pandemic?

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other company or publication.

 * ... PEDESTRIAN DEATHS: Were you surprised by the recent survey that shows Bakersfield ranking second in the nation for pedestrian deaths? The study cited wide streets that encourage speeding (true) and crosswalks that are spaced far apart (also true.) And the study when on to report (in a story carried in The Bakersfield Californian) that people of color, older adults and walkers in low income neighborhoods

suffered higher fatality rates. While that may be true, it also comes as no surprise. Why? Because across the country people in low income neighborhoods suffered higher fatality rate for all the obvious reasons, including lack of street lighting, the presence of more pedestrians, drug use and homelessness. What the study should have noted is that Kern County and Bakersfield are home to all the factors that lead to pedestrian deaths: a huge underclass of often illiterate people living in run-down neighborhoods, rampant drug use and addiction that leads people to make bad decisions, homelessness that is virtually out of control and wide, flat roads that lead to speeding. Until our demographics improve, you can expect to find Bakersfield on this list for years.

 * ... MUSIC TO MY EARS: On the one-year anniversary of the pandemic that has taken more than 500,000 American lives, it was encouraging to read the opinion piece in Thursday's Bakersfield Californian by Centric Health owner Dr. Brij Bhambi. "Science saved us," wrote Bhambi. "There is decency and divinity is saving human life. The vaccinated are less likely to spread the virus to the vulnerable and more likely to protect by literally being a human shield between the virus and the vulnerable... Now is not the time to sit on the fence and allow the virus to morph. The vaccinated are protected and protect. Vaccine hesitancy is counter to civic responsibility."

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: When is Oprah going to interview people who lost their pipeline jobs?

 * ... TEACHER OF THE YEAR: A big congratulations to Jolie Brouttier, who has been nominated as Kern County Teacher of the Year representing the Bakersfield City School District. The award will be given out later this year. Brouttier taught for seven years at McKinley Elementary and is now at the Downtown School. During the pandemic, Brouttier "visited" her students at their homes, leaving yard sign greetings while spending her other spare tine raising money for backpacks and other supplies for the neediest of students.

 * ... PROSECUTORS: And speaking of high achieving women, Gina Pearl has been named Prosecutor of the Year by District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer. Others in the District Attorney's office being honored were Andrea Kohler and Arthur Norris who won the Justice Award and Amy French was honored with the Support Staff Person of the Year honors.

 * ... MEMORIES: Check out this classic shot of cars on the old Ridge Route encountering Dead Man's Curve, a slice of the road that took many lives, and shots of the curve today. Photos courtesy of Kern County of Old Facebook page.

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: And can you stand one more picture of the old Wayne's Dairies? Not sure of the date but the employees pose here in their crisp white shirts before the dairy entrance.

Bob Hampton, enthusiastic Taft businessman and USC alum, dies at the age of 83, Sheriff Donny Youngblood minces no works in calling for the reopening of the economy, and Dr. Brij Bhambi lays out the road toward herd immunity

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other person or organization.

 * ... HERD IMMUNITY: Centric Health's Dr. Brij Bhambi says herd immunity may be the only way to deal with the long-term consequences of the coronavirus. Bhambi said society has moved from "trying to eliminate the virus to trying to live with it," and it is now clear the nation is too

restless to stay locked down much longer. The only viable option, Bhambi said, is "a reasonable strategy to build herd immunity." That means protecting those at risk - the elderly and people with health issues - while allowing the young and the healthy to return to work. At the same time, society must continue with social distancing and other precautions like wearing face masks. Still, he warned, there will be casualties."Not everyone is going to take personal responsibility" for their own welfare, he warned.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "When this is all over I hope there are lots of job openings for people who can bake bread and put together jigsaw puzzles."

 * ... RIP BOB HAMPTON: In some ways Bob Hampton epitomized Kern County and his adopted hometown of Taft: larger than life, rooted in a blue collar work ethic, successful in a quiet way that was never flaunted and loyal to a fault. He was an enthusiastic graduate of USC, worked in the recycling and waste industries and although he could afford to live in Bakersfield's finest neighborhoods, it was Taft where he worked and called home. Hampton was 83 this week when he suffered what appears to be a heart attack at his Taft office and later died. The outpouring of affection for Hampton and his widow, Judy, was immediate and impressive.

 * ... SHERIFF YOUNGBLOOD: Sheriff Donny Youngblood minces no words when it comes to the pandemic and what it means for local businesses. Youngblood said the current state policy of threatening restaurants and bars with losing their alcohol licenses if they open was "tyrannical" and that his office has no intention of playing the enforcer when "people are just trying to make a living." In a perfect world, Youngblood added, the state should allow individual counties and cities to make their own decisions about opening with proper social distancing protocol. I am not a science denier, he said, but rather a person looking for a reasonable accommodation for people and businesses.

 * ... NORDSTROM CLOSING: One of the growing list of victims to this pandemic is Nordstrom, which is closing 16 locations because of the disruption in sales. Among those to be closed in the Nordstrom on State Street in Santa Barbara.“These types of decisions are never easy because we realize what this means for our employees,” the retailer’s corporate office said in a media statement. “Our goal is to best position ourselves to serve customers in each market where we operate. Because of the impacts COVID-19 has had on our business, we need to take a critical look at the physical footprint of our stores to determine which we will continue to operate.”  Nordstrom has been an  anchor in the Paseo Nuevo mall for almost 30 years along with Macy's, which closed three years ago.

 * ... ZELEZNY: Hats off to Lynette Zelezny, the CSUB president who was voted the CSU President of the Year by the student associations of the university system. Zelezny was the face of the Cal State system when CNN aired a report on the system moving to online learning in the fall.

 * .... MEMIORIES: Back in 1952, just after the big earthquake,  this is what Chester Avenue looked like. Thanks to the Kern County of Old Facebook page for this shot.

U.S. oil independence is threatened by the coronavirus, wild sturgeon return to the San Joaquin river and are you spending the lockdown fat, drunk and happy?

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other person or organization.

 * ... OIL SLOWDOWN: Under the Trump administration, the United States has enjoyed a period of energy independence, but the coronavirus pandemic threatens to upend all that. That's according to Chad Hathaway, CEO of Hathaway Oil, who says worldwide consumption of oil is down 30 percent and that may not be the bottom. "We have changed the fundamental nature of travel," Hathaway told

me. "There are no places to sell our product." Hathaway says by the time the U.S. emerges from this pandemic, we will be an oil importer once again. Across the globe, Hathaway said tankers full of oil are sitting idly on the world's ocean, waiting for a place to dock and sell their goods. It's not happening. "We are running out of places to store" the oil, he said.

* ... LOCKDOWN HABITS So how are you spending your time in lockdown? Tutoring your children in math? Reading a novel? Working on a home improvement project? Researching ways to help humanity in this time of need? Well those are good thoughts, but if you believe Forbes, most of us have devolved into couch potatoes who drink too much, eat fatty foods and watch pornography. Listen to Forbes describe us: "It looks like Americans are collectively channeling their inner-slacker attitude. People are consuming more alcohol, smoking weed, playing video games, eating a lot of junk food, binge-watching Netflix and adult films more than ever before... According to investment advice site Motley Fool, 'During the first few weeks of the month, cannabis sales were soaring and spiked around the middle of the month as fears heightened that people would be confined to their homes in an effort to fight the coronavirus pandemic.' Marijuana sales are high in a number of states where it's legal... Pornhub, if you can’t tell by its name, is a popular online adult film site visited by roughly 120 million viewers every day. Now that Americans are self-quarantining at home, Pornhub has seen a large rise in traffic—up 11.6 percent."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Well, millennials finally stopped going out for avocado toast. Can everybody afford a house now?"

 * ... QUOTE OF THE DAY: You just have to love this quote from Sheriff Donny Youngblood, commenting on the party where - amid the pandemic - 400 people gathered for a party in east Bakersfield. A drive by shooting left six wounded at the party and the victims are refusing to cooperate with deputies. Said Youngblood: "You can't regulate stupidity."

 * ... GOOD MARKETING: You have to give it to the folks over at Hoffman Hospice for coming up with a brilliant way to a) lift our spirits while b) raising money for the non-profit during a difficult time. I am talking about those red "Everything Will Be Okay" signs that are popping up in yards around town. Hoffman sells them for $20 each and will deliver to the house of your choice. When one mysteriously appears in your yard (thank you Karen Rowles for the joy you brought to me and Alysia Beene) it is certain to lift your spirits.

 * ... WILD STURGEON: It's been a long time but a rare, wild green sturgeon has been found on the San Joaquin river near Merced. According to Lois Henry writing on her SJVWATER.ORG blog, it had been years that the fish had been spotted that far up the river. Like salmon, sturgeon spawn in rivers and then swim out to sea, only to return to spawn once again. Most sturgeon are bred in farms for their eggs, or caviar. Said Lois: "Though the San Joaquin River Restoration Program is concentrated on bringing back spring run Chinook salmon populations, green sturgeons were also native to the area and evolved in the same habitat so it’s not surprising to see them return as the river has been brought back to life."

 * ... EASTER SUNDAY:  This is a lovely and telling photo spotted in The Los Angeles Times of Easter Sunday in Los Angeles. Enjoy.

 * ... MEMORIES: From the Kern County History Fans Facebook page: "This is the Lakeview #2 gusher at Maricopa, May 1914. It produced 20,000 barrels a day from a depth of 3400 feet."