By Paul Goldfinger, MD.   Editor of Blogfinger.net and Dean of the Ocean Grove Off-Shore School of Medicine.

a.  HEADS-UP!       Blogfinger will sponsor the 10th Annual OG Town-wide Yard Sale. Due to repetitive  bad-luck weather in May, we are changing the date to (tentative) Saturday June 18.  And we will have a rain date.   More information will be forthcoming, but mark your calendars and start collecting some stuff.  We can be the best town yard sale at the shore, and we will not cause any parking problems.

b. Speaking of parking, what happened to the phony-baloney consortium of groups trying to solve our parking problems in the Grove?   We predicted that they will fail due to too many self -interests, too much interference by private groups, too little interest by the Neptune  Comedy, no representation for the tax paying residents, and failure to face up to the core problem which is too many cars and too few spaces.

It reminds me of high school where we had too many guys and too few cheerleaders.  Thank goodness for the flute players in the band.

As we have said, we need more attention to the needs of residents.  A permit parking plan can work here to give residents a bit of advantage in the parking wars.    And then to have the Township grow a pair (x5) and start refusing permits for so many giant events where only the tourists and the sponsors win.

Ocean Grove. Let’s find fun for the residents; the kind of events that do not bring more cars and tourists to town. PG photo. 2015

But these parking mavens in town cannot even make timed parking downtown happen, an idea that most people agree on including the business owners.

c. And, today, Saturday Sept 18, again we again had parking glut, and LABOR DAY IS OVER!   Don’t let anyone tell you that our parking problems will end on Labor Day.   This was a gorgeous September Saturday, and most Grovers were isolated in their homes.  This beautiful day should have belonged to Grover residents.

There was a morning 5K run for the Arts and the usual useless  downtown British car show. Also there was a Christian music festival by the beach.

Why are those Chamber and CMA Anglophiles able to shut down our streets and promote yet another tourist magnet that benefits no OG citizens.  And why do the Neptuners spend our tax  money to promote events such as this?   And why are they celebrating the major cause of carbon emissions—-the automobile.

Those three events today were self inflicted, but then there were those Asburian devils who put on a massive music festival today, and that made the parking troubles worse in the Grove.  And the Festival will get to torture us some more with the 2nd day of the event.  And in October the Chamber of Commercials will be treating us to a harvest festival.

We’re from Jersey and NYC–who needs harvest festivals?…..Let’s do something for us:   How about bringing in some food trucks to the pathway or downtown and let the Grovarians walk over and chow down, relaxing  with the neighbors.   Or how about porch concerts where strollers can visit venues where small groups are performing.  That would be perfect.

Israel Times where 3 million have already received booster shots.

d.  As for COVID booster shots, the Israelis have found significant reductions in risk with booster shots.  Officially we are told by the CDC that only those with immunesuppression should receive a booster, but soon those over 60 will be permitted as well.

However, many individuals who do not fit into those categories have managed lately to get boosters.  I think that is fine if you can do it, but  you should wait at least for 4-6 months after the last shot.  By 6 months the immunity is beginning to fall off.  The feds might choose 8 months.

Those who have gotten booster shots who are under 60 have sometimes been able to simply walk into a pharmacy and get the shot.  Some have lied when they check the immunosuppressed box on the form. That’s between your conscience, your doctor and your pharmacist.  I have heard of no one who has gotten into trouble doing that.   And some who didn’t answer the immunosup. question and still got the shot.

One reason to wait is that the data isn’t in as to the details of 3rd shot boosters. They seem to have similar side effects as the first two shots, but maybe they will turn out to be more toxic.  And there will be more data rolling in once large scale trials are completed.  It seems likely that there will soon be official approval of more candidates for boosters.

I personally know some folks who have had the 3rd shot booster, and their side effects consisted of a sore arm and flu like symptoms—feeling crummy:   headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, low grade fever . But more time could reveal some severe reactions.

Some doctors have begun ordering antibody levels on their patients, but it’s not clear how those results will be used to guide patient care.  However I think those results will become valuable and can detect certain risk components and guide decisions on boosters.