Tracking children who are not vaccinated, experiences of South Korean adoptees who return to their home country, when older drivers should hang up the keys.
6-year-old leukemia survivor’s dad to school: make unvaccinated kids stay home
The recent California measles outbreak has at least one Marin County father very worried, and with good reason. Carl Krawitt’s six-year-old son Rhett has been battling leukemia for the past four years. Although the cancer has entered remission, years of treatment have left Rhett’s immune system weak--too weak for him to be vaccinated against the highly communicable disease and too fragile for him to risk catching it. Compounding their worries is the area where they live, which boasts one of the state’s highest rates of “personal belief exemptions”--that is to say, a whopping 7% of the students who attend Rhett’s elementary school have never been vaccinated. Now Rhett’s father is asking school officials to step up and tell parents of unvaccinated students to keep their kids at home.
The onset of measles is similar to that of other infections, meaning it could take days for symptoms to be properly diagnosed. At a school where many students have not been vaccinated, this could put entire classrooms in danger. Pediatrician Dr. Janesri De Silva tells Take Two that the most severe cases can result in pneumonia or even encephalitis, a swelling of the brain that can lead to seizures and permanent brain damage. The infection is most problematic for young children and people with compromised immune systems; six-year-old Rhett falls into both categories, making the circumstances all the more worrisome. Rhett received his initial inoculation when he was younger, but the shot made him so sick that he was forced to wait until he had recovered before receiving his next round of chemotherapy treatment. Realizing how devastating a full infection could be, his father took a proactive approach toward guarding his son’s health and recovery.
“This is something that we’ve been talking about for a couple of years now,” Carl Krawitt tells Alex Cohen. “Before Rhett started kindergarten in the fall of 2013, we asked about this at the school, we knew it was a risk, his oncologist told us there would be a risk, especially in Marin where we live where the level of vaccination is not as high as we would like it to be to reach herd immunity.” Ninety-three cases of measles have been reported in the country to date--79 of those in California. Krawitt says that county health officials and the district superintendent have been sympathetic to Rhett’s condition, but are reluctant to require all unvaccinated children to stay home because no cases of the measles have been reported in Marin County. Still, Carl says he will continue to push until he can be sure that Rhett will be safe, telling KPCC, “Our goal is not to keep people home from school, we just want to find another vehicle to force parents to have the conversation with their pediatrician and realize how important it is to immunize their kids, not just for their own kid’s safety, but to also protect those that are vulnerable like my son.”
While some parents in Marin County choose to observe their right to “personal belief exemptions,” many students in the Los Angeles Unified School District aren’t getting their regular vaccinations for another reason; their low-income parents haven’t had the time to take them to the clinic. Students entering school are required to be up-to-date on their vaccinations, but the district will allow students who have had at least one shot in each required category to continue attending class as a “conditional entrant.” As measles cases continue to rise, more parents are working to get their children the inoculations they need. SCPR’s Rebecca Plevin has the full story.
As Korean adoptees return, a complex relationship follows
More than 200,000 Korean children were adopted to overseas families during the past six decades, mostly to the U.S. As they've come of age, many have made the trip back to South Korea.
"I do feel like it's paradoxical," said Nicky Sa-eun Schildkraut, a Korean adoptee who grew up near Boston and now lives in Los Angeles. "I have all these privileges growing up in my westernized family, all my education and degrees I would not be able to have if I had still been in Korea, so I feel fortunate in that sense."
But Schildkraut said there's another side, as well.
"I didn't choose that," said Schildkraut, whose exact age at adoption is still unknown. "The fact that I'll never be able to find my biological family and relatives. I feel like that kind of loss is interminable, it's just ongoing loss."
Schildkraut returned to South Korea twice to find more information about her biological family and explored her experience in a book of poetry, Magnetic Refrain. She's part of a wave of adult adoptees who have made that trip or relocated.
"It's a very complicated subject," said Maggie Jones, contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine. "Certainly lots of adopted children have very, very happy family lives in the United States, but they also often face racial discrimination growing up."
Her recent cover story for the magazine has sparked debate about the ethics of international adoption and what can be learned from the perspective of adult adoptees.
"What adoptees are saying to us as adoptive parents is we have a chance to make things better for our children," said Jones, who also writes about her own experience as an adoptive mother.
READ: Why a Generation of Adoptees Is Returning to South Korea (New York Times Magazine)
How some fantasy sports players are making millions a year
With the NFL's regular season long over and the Super Bowl just a few days away, most of the fantasy pro-football leagues are done and life is getting back to normal for obsessed fantasy fans.
But all across the country, every day, hardcore fantasy sports enthusiasts are still betting on their favorite players, and not just in pro football.
recently wrote about this for Bloomberg Businessweek and joins A Martinez on the line to talk.
Ms. Marvel busts anti-Islam bus ads in San Francisco
In San Francisco, an interesting battle over ideology is playing out... on the side of buses.
An extremist group called the American Freedom Defense Initiative paid to place ads calling for an end to aid to all islamic countries, claiming that hatred of Jews is in the Koran.
Despite protests, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency won't remove the ads - they say they're protecting free speech.
So a creative activist decided to spring into action, with a little help from superhero Kamala Khan, or Ms. Marvel.
Edina Lekovic, Director of Policy & Programs for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, joins Alex Cohen for a talk.
The Wheel Thing: Too old to drive? How to tell
Too old to drive? >>
For several decades, highway safety efforts have been focused primarily on teen drivers. They are much more likely to be involved in accidents, and also more likely to die in car crashes.
But at the other end of life's spectrum, far less is known about older drivers. Motorists over 65 are more likely to be injured or die in collisions than their counterparts who are just a few years younger. In fact, statistics show a 70-year-old is four times as likely to die than a 20-year-old in an accident of the same intensity.
Beyond that, there's little hard data about the concrete effects aging may have on the operation of a vehicle.
An unprecedented study hopes to shed some light on the nation's senior drivers, who will soon make up a quarter of all those behind the wheel.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety will follow 3,000 drivers, between the ages of 65 and 79, for five years. The Foundation has enlisted researchers from institutions such as Columbia, Johns Hopkins and UC-San Diego. Drivers will be interviewed, their medical history studied, and their cars will be fitted with GPS tracking devices.
Researchers will focus on a variety of functions that can decline with age, including vision, cognitive function and motor skills. They'll also look at the effects of common medications on driving ability.
Dr. Emmy Betz of the University of Colorado Medical School is one of the lead investigators in the study. She applauds the strides society has made in cutting death rates for teen drivers.
“Unfortunately, it’s much harder at the other end of the spectrum but equally important," says Betz. "Driving is so important for older adults because it’s the primary means of mobility.”
Which makes the question of when to take the keys away particularly tricky. Betz and the other researchers hope their work will lead to programs and protocols that help older people continue to drive successfully, and make it easier to understand when it's time to step away from the wheel.
Quick facts about drivers 65+
- They are the fastest-growing population of drivers
- 25 percent of all U.S. drivers will be 65 or older by 2025
- They have an overall crash rate comparable to 20- and 30-year-old drivers
- They have a higher death rate per mile driven than any other group
- 95 percent use medications that may impair driving
SOURCE: Automobile Association of America
Driving observations to determine if a senior should still drive:
Pluses:
- stops at all stop signs and looks both ways
- stops at all red lights
- appropriately yields the right of way
- responds properly to other vehicles, motorcyclists, bicyclists, pedestrians and road hazards
- merges and changes lanes safely
- stays in the lane when turning and driving straight
Minuses:
- slowing or stopping inappropriately, such as at green lights or in intersections
- driving too fast for road conditions
- driving so slowly as to impeded the safe flow of traffic
- driving aggressively
- getting lost routinely on routes that should be familiar for the driver
SOURCE: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Non-driving observations to determine if a senior should still drive:
- forgetfulness
- unusual or excessive agitation
- confusion and disorientation
- loss of coordination and trouble with stiffness in joints
- trouble walking, swallowing, hearing or following verbal instructions
- dizziness when changing positions, tripping and falling
- shortness of breath and general fatigue
- difficulty following verbal instructions and/or giving inappropriate responses to those instructions
SOURCE: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Recommendations to increase 65+ driver safety:
- exercise to improve strength and flexibility
- ask doctor or pharmacist to review medicine to reduce side effects and interactions
- check eyes once a year
- drive during the day and in good weather
- find safest route with well lit streets and left turn arrows
- plan route before you drive
- leave a large following distance between yourself and car in front of you
- avoid distractions inside the car
- consider alternatives to driving, i.e. public transit or riding with a friend
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control
Betting on your favorite pro-athlete all year
All across the country every day, hardcore fantasy sports enthusiasts are still betting on their favorite players -- and not just in pro football.
State of Affairs: New CA poll, Boxer's seat, and Koch cash
This week in California politics, Gov. Brown's record-high approval rating and what the Koch brothers's nearly $900 million spending goal for 2016 could mean for California.
Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, Senior Fellow at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, and Carla Marinucci, senior political writer at The San Francisco Chronicle, join Take Two.
CA plans for larger Chinook salmon release after die-off
The endangered Chinook salmon will have a much larger release this winter after the majority of eggs and young fish died off during last year's run.
NASA to launch new satellite that will help predict droughts
NASA is launching the Soil Moisture Active Passive mission, a new satellite that will help predict droughts by measuring soil moisture all over the earth.
Yosemite reports sighting of rare Sierra Nevada red fox
The sighting provides research partners the opportunity to learn more about the fox and help protect it.
Motion-sensitive cameras took pictures of the fox in the northern part of the park. There have been two sightings, but officials aren't sure if it's the same or a different fox.
Crews have set up hair snare stations in the area in hopes of obtaining a hair sample and get a genetic analysis of the animal. Yosemite's remote areas create a hospitable habitat for wildlife, away from any disturbances and people.
Kari Cobb is a park ranger at Yosemite National Park and she joined Take Two for the latest on the rare sighting.
'The Phone Call' is an unexpected Oscar nominee
The big prize at the Oscars is always Best Picture. It's the last award of the night and keeps everyone on the edge of their seats.
There are, however, other films competing, and one of them is in the Live Action Short category called, "The Phone Call."
It stars Sally Hawkins as a soft-spoken woman who works at a suicide crisis call center. She takes a call from a widower, played by Jim Broadbent, who is a wreck dealing with the death of his wife.
Watch: "The Phone Call" official trailer
It's only 20 minutes long, but is packed with drama and emotion. Mat Kirkby wrote and directed "The Phone Call," and he joins Take Two.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:
Mat, you come from the commercial music video world. What made you want to take something like this on?
"Well what happens is you spend all your time doing music videos of girls flaunting themselves in their knickers, and after five years of that, and filming burgers close-up, you want to make something you're proud of. So I took some time out and decided to make something that meant something, and took them on an emotional journey, and ultimately, made us feel proud of what we'd made."
As far as Jim Broadbent, he never appears on camera, we just hear his voice. Why did you make that choice?
"I'm sure I would have put him on camera if I had realized at the time that he had won an Oscar. [Laughs] But everyone said, 'I can't believe you didn't point the camera at Jim. You've got some balls, buddy.' If you had showed Jim -- Jim's got such a lovely face -- you would have made certain assumptions as a viewer about this story, and ultimately, we want to put the viewer in the situation of the volunteer on the phone. We're listening like she's listening, and you don't get any clues when you're a volunteer on one of these lines, you just have to listen for all the subtle little sounds and clues that come in from the other end of the phone."
What would a win do for your career? Would you be able to leave music videos behind and plan full-length feature films?
"Even having a nomination has helped. I've managed to secure one of the top Hollywood agents in town, he looks after Robert Redford, and people of that caliber. So it's already helped. It's been a year since we've shot the film, it takes that long for a short film to get out there and reach its audience and win festivals. We won at Tribeca this year, and that's what gets you into the Oscar part. So I've been busy this year and I've sat at home drinking coffee, eating cake and I've finished my screenplay. So I've got my feature film script ready, and yeah, in two days time, I might be on the plane to Hollywood with it under my arm and try and get it made."