The meeting was held via Zoom with Rotarians and guests participating from their homes and offices in various time zones. Approximately 87 people joined in the meeting.
Pre-meeting chatter was focused on the overseas participants and news from their countries. President David brought the group to order at 12:03 with words of welcome. Participants quickly transferred to Zoom breakout rooms or round-table discussions, where the conversation question was which seat is best to claim when flying—aisle, center, or window?
When all returned to the combined session after five minutes, President David called for the playback of Charlie Huffman and Carl Bolte singing Welcome to Rotary recorded at Carl’s home. Followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, Barbara Dolci’s invocation emphasized reflection and thanks as went into the coming holiday weekend.
President David identified two individuals with club anniversaries this week: Blake Fry, one year; and Aren Ryan, one year. There were many guests to introduce at the meeting—a slide with names was shown—with farthest away being in Zambia, from southern Africa.
For the benefit of the guests, Tony Andresen shared a summary of Club 13’s activities. The list, when viewed all at once, is impressive: Rotary Youth Camp, Harvesters, Westside Community Action Center, Dragon Boat Races, Bowling League, Salvation Army bell ringing, Shoes for Orphan Souls, Satellite clubs, Women & Friends of Rotary, and the monthly book club. With a large membership, our club can accomplish many things with great meaning for the wider community.
Jan Armstrong introduced our guest presenter, Dr. Barbara Pahud, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at UMKC’s School of Medicine. Dr. Pahud works at Children’s Mercy Hospital and has helped with evaluating and distributing the Astra Zeneca COVID vaccine in high-risk communities in greater Kansas City. Her presentation was specific to the pandemic, and how vaccine development is working to fight it.
Just as there have been pandemics before, there have been conspiracy theories before surrounding vaccines. Apprehension about vaccines as a medical innovation are nothing new. But the pace at which scientists have been able to develop vaccines in the last 12 months have been impressive. To be specific, the virus (SARS-COV-2) causes the disease (COVID-19) and its variants. The genetic composition of the virus is comparatively small, when looked at in light of the genetic makeup of large organisms like the human body. The smallness of the SARS-COV-2 genome has been an aid to pharmaceutical researchers in deciding how to attack the virus.
The goal of a vaccine is to trigger a prompt immune response when the target virus arrives. That response produces anti-bodies. To stream-line the ‘how vaccines work’ explanation, Dr. Pahud made a culinary analogy: sharing the vaccine is like sharing a recipe. It can be (1) verbal, like a whispered suggestion, (2) a formal recipe sent in an envelope, or (3) a prepared dish like takeout. Just as you prompt the body to make antibodies with varying levels of detail, the specificity of getting food instructions or the food itself to a person has a sliding scale. Different pharmaceutical companies are approaching the pandemic across this range of options.
As the COVID vaccine search started in the spring of 2020, researchers were hoping for efficacy in the 30% to 40% range. The vaccine trials, with elevated success rates north of 70%, are very encouraging news.
Dr. Pahud fielded a range of questions gracefully on topics ranging from disease mutation to underlying vaccine ingredients to the COVID pass rate between those already vaccinated and those not.
President David thanked Dr. Pahud for her comments and presented the customary Club 13 pen to her in appreciation.
Next week, our guest speaker will be Mike Saxton of Kansas City’s Air Show. His presentation is titled Best Air Show in America: Blue Angels and More.
President David concluded the meeting by referencing the wise works of Thomas Merton: “Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy.” The 4-Way Test closed the session.
The Satellite Club will meet on Tuesday, February 23, 5:30 PM via Zoom with Diane Scott and Dennis McKeehan tag teaming as Moderator. Following networking, Rotarian and former CEO of City Union Mission, Dan Doty will speak on “Homelessness in Kansas City.” With the extreme cold temperatures, this is a very timely topic. All Club 13 Rotarians are welcome to link in.
@rotaryclub13
@rotary13
@rotaryclub13
.jpg)
.png)
.png)