Body Do you know anyone who had influenza this past year? Chances are you do not. Sure, plenty of people had the “stomach flu” with vomiting and diarrhea, otherwise known as gastroenteritis. Some people had colds and others had COVID-19.

Body March 6th marks one year since the first positive case of coronavirus was confirmed in Nebraska. Over the past year, it’s been an all-hands-on-deck effort to protect hospital capacity, support our healthcare workers and help keep Nebraskans healthy.

Body We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel for committees to wrap up their hearings. Starting next week we will have morning debate and the afternoons are reserved for the Judiciary Committee to finish up their hearings and for other committees to have executive sessions.

Body In the old Broadway Musical “Bye, Bye Birdie,” there’s a tune that has stood the test of time, not because of it’s tune or its popularity, but because of its lyrics. The song is called, “What’s the Matter with Kids

Body Last month, we crossed a grim milestone. COVID-19 was the leading cause of death in the United States during the month of January, the first time that has happened since the pandemic began last March.

Body Last summer we heard the prediction that by the end of 2020, we would have a safe, effective vaccine to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which had only been discovered, of course, in December 2019, causing countless deaths and mayhem in the world as we knew it. I must admit, I was skeptical.

Body Last Friday was day 3o of the 90 day session, which means we have made it a third of the way through this session.

Body Nebraska is a national leader in the quality of our state highway system. This is no accident—Nebraskans take pride in building high-quality infrastructure and understand the of our to grow our state.

Body I can hear it now. My grandpa repeating the same old story about how awful winters were when he was a kid. Oh...and it better be bad, bad weather if they were going to call off school. No snow days for a couple inches. No late starts.

Body I’ve learned a lot from my patients over the years. Sometimes, the lessons are learned as I walk beside them through struggles, both medical and non-medical.