At IHMVCU.

We've always been here for you.

You are and always will be our top priority.

We care about your financial health and we are here.

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Public affairs programing on Wqpt is brought to you by the Singh Group at Merrill, serving the wealth management needs of clients in the region for over 35 years.

The illness that make us sick of winter and the Oscar buzz.

A look at the best of Hollywood in the cities.

We're days away from the Academy Awards, but Hollywood's magic is dimmed by California wildfires.

So what can we expect?

That's still ahead with a veteran Quad City film critic.

But first, respiratory illnesses.

We're at the midway point for winter, and we're now facing what's called the big four.

The flu, RSV, Covid and the norovirus.

We're joined today by the head of the Rock Island County Health Department.

It's administrator George Voracity.

So we're in the middle of the respiratory illness season.

I mean, is it hard to tell whether the worst is over?

Well, according to the, in the forecast, because this is attached to the winter.

So according to a forecast, we are going to have at least two more a month in this cold weather.

So we expect them with we are going to still having more cases.

Flu, Covid, we are paying close attention to avian flu.

So far no human cases.

Norovirus as well.

Pertussis that we have here, some cases in, In Rock Island.

Well, when we're talking about pertussis, we're talking whooping cough.

It's certainly, you know.

On how people want to interpret that.

So there have been some cases because I always thought that's a very that's, that's, really hits young kids.

I mean, particularly infants.

Horrible.

To see them cough that bad.

And one would have thought pertussis was over.

Well, yeah, we.

Yeah, we, expect to.

That happened.

However, in we need to know that, the vaccines for the first year protects the 9,095% for that first year.

Then we decreased the protection for the second, the third year for that reason.

In in infants, we need to protect our infants with the vaccine.

With this vaccine.

A two month, six month and eight month, nine month.

So in in the end, we have a booster, four years old and and then and when they are, around 12 years old, this is the reason that we are having these all these in special on this because in time, deportation decreases, right?

So, is it a real problem getting people vaccinated?

I mean, it's, you know, that especially since Covid, people have really been questioning vaccines.

I mean, is that a growing problem?

Well, it's, yes and no.

What happened is, a is that here in Rock Island, we have have, yes, seven cases of, whooping.

Cough.

Okay.

If we compare with Scott County, our A1 neighbor, they had a 33 cases of, pertussis, a whooping cough.

So here in Illinois.

So I think this is, an effort, a community effort in the nurses, parents that they bring their children to get the vaccine at doctors and other clinicals and hospitals trying to a counsel their patients and nursing minister the.

So this is a very a, a collaborative effort here in Rhode Island.

I think this is the definition of public health.

So, however, we found certain pockets of families that they are not inclined to protect their children's.

So this is a free country.

We allow them.

However, if we have an outbreak, we need to, inform these families that the children they need, need to be isolated from this outbreak in order to because they are going to be very vulnerable.

And very much at risk.

Exactly.

So and so, I think is so far we are good, doing this a, you know, just for our own system.

This is a parent, entire.

Medical community as well as families.

Exactly.

Which is so important.

Let's talk a little bit about Covid.

I it was first, public warning came out five years ago.

Four years ago at this time in January was a huge peak in cases.

Even, three years ago, in January, we saw another peak.

It is a very different virus now.

Yes.

Yes.

So, yeah, we have in a variations, a mutations in this virus.

And correct me if I'm wrong, when you do have the variations and the mutations, it tends to weak.

It attacks the body perhaps differently, but it's a weakened virus is.

Not necessarily okay.

We can we can have in in some point a mutation that could be very, very dangerous that we have in the past.

So going back to to your question, you are right that what happened when we were in the middle of the pandemic in, in 22 and 22 and 21.

And, and we tried to speed the process to get a vaccine at that time.

So in the pharmaceuticals they, they, they cut some part of this process.

Absolutely.

So this is the reason then that the population in the whole world, not just here, they were a little afraid about this new vaccine because didn't didn't go to usual way that we have the vaccine for, for other diseases.

So however, in time we have demonstrated that this vaccine is very, very healthy indeed.

And we know our health department, we conducted survey to our a individuals that they come to our health department, to get the vaccine, the Covid vaccine asking for adverse effects.

We found very interesting information.

We found that none of them they need to go to a hospital because of these, adverse effects.

None of them.

They lose a single day after doc ministration of that vaccine, we found that.

Yes.

Minor side effects, side effects like, some pain.

Despite some burning, different coloration at the site of the administration.

But more than that, we didn't if found any any we didn't find any, serious adverse effect related to the vaccine and is here in Rock Island.

And as a public health official, knowing that and looking at those statistics, you would say the Covid vaccine was a huge success.

Yes it is.

It is because in just with this information, we need to go in deep.

We try to identify other factors behavior of human behavior, for instance, or for instance, if, if someone get the vaccine can relax that protect against someone who or to go to a gathering, gathering meetings and, conversely, someone who doesn't didn't have the vaccine is going to be more careful in order to be part of party.

You know.

I'm sure they'll segregate themselves more.

Exactly because he knows or he knows that.

Right, exactly.

So this is part of this.

So for that reason, I think, the conclusion at the end is important to get the vaccine, this, protection, race against the, the, Covid 19 virus.

But also we need to take under consideration, despite that, we are having the vaccine we need is still put in place some protected, behavioral factors against the, this virus because it's still out there.

It's a tall order.

Let me talk a little bit about a specialty that you had in California.

You were very active in the work program, the women and infants program.

How important is it to get prenatal care and to get maternity care?

In Rock Island County?

Yeah.

Well, I think this is crucial now.

We we don't know what will happen with all this economy that is.

And uncertainty.

So, here in Rock Island County, and we have a 18% of our children that they live under a poverty line.

So I think it's important to try to, increase, expand this program out in our community.

We recently.

Yes, today we hired a new nutritionist because we want to implement a mobile wig clinic here in Rock Island.

So, I am planning to discuss this with my board of health.

They want me, I want that they support me on this.

Because we are going to need a mobile unit in order to serve the community where they live.

Because we, we we found the, the some communities now they are has dental transportation for you as, they are afraid for that happening right now, going out in the streets because we're happening right now with so the instead of expose these communities or a they don't have transportation.

We are going to go where they are live.

What do you hope that that could start?

Well, we are working in right now with the state.

So we today we have a new hire.

We need to train to to more of my staff to be assistant nutrition assistance.

I think because I am in this since last year.

It takes a while.

Yes.

It takes, is is a long process.

But we need to meet all the requirements with the state.

So I think by the summer, In there could be a mobile, nutrition lab.

Exactly.

That would be amazing.

Exactly.

That's is that's is my goal.

I think the more health the, the are going to be, part of this project.

Me because this benefit of the community.

Is that kind of the key to public health?

I mean, that you get out of the office, do you know what I mean?

Is that you have to go out and and get to the people that are affected the most.

Exactly.

Yes, exactly.

So what I when I, a I mention about pertussis, in which way parents, doctors and nurses at the school, our nurses in the public health, we are all working because we all are public health.

So the same with any other parent.

In this case, the let's take so becomes a breast cancer.

We need to go out.

We need to communicate with doctors and nurses.

Even, a community organizations in which they should know that if someone doesn't have access to those screening, we are here to serve that community.

This is the the message that we are we are we trying to be out there trying to communicate that message to all?

So there is no excuse to someone to have, a breast screening, a mammogram or, baptism for cervical cancer.

Roll out our thanks to Rock Island County Health Department Administrator George Voracity.

Coming up next.

Hooray for Hollywood.

Did the top Oscar picks make an impression in the cities?

But first, we're halfway through February with a calendar full of events you might enjoy.

So here's a few of them.

Thanks to visit Quad Cities.

Check out the things to do this week in the Quad Cities.

Start off with watching your favorite pups in action at Paw Patrol live on February 18th at Vibrant Arena at the Mark.

Then you can join the author of the book, From Dubuque to Selma and Beyond, as he shares his personal journey at the Rock Island Public Library on February 19th.

Then try cooking martinis paired with your favorite cookies at the public house on February 20th.

Next, you can support local black owned businesses at the Black Owned Business Expo at South Park Mall on February 22nd.

And finally, Ballet Quad Cities presents Love Stories on February 22nd at the Galvin Fine Arts Center.

For more events like these, check out our events calendar at visit Quad cities.com.

This is proving to be a tough few weeks for Hollywood.

The Academy Awards are a few days away, just as Los Angeles deals with wildfires that claim thousands of acres and hundreds of homes.

But that's just part of the drama coming out of Hollywood.

And watching it all is Mike Scholz, film critic and editor with the River cities, where you.

Let's talk about the wildfires real quickly.

Sure.

What kind of an impact has that had on this Academy Awards program?

Well, we.

Probably won't know until they actually give out the awards.

I guess.

But, what we do know is that voters have a week, a week less to actually vote, because they were supposed to come out, I think the 15th or something, and it was delayed until the 22nd.

Yeah.

So they have to do they have to do more catch up in less time.

But to be honest, nothing that got nominated was really all that surprising.

I would imagine that voters were already pretty aware of what was going to be, you know, up for big prizes.

And so maybe it'd be 4 or 5 theoretically tip off to catch that.

Oh, I wasn't going to see that.

But no nominations came out.

Maybe I should give it a look.

So is the broadcast going to be all a lot of fire?

I mean, I just imagine I think it's it's speech.

Yeah.

In speech.

I think it's going to be pretty somber this year.

For want of.

Understood.

I know that they've talked about not performing the original songs this year.

This isn't a bad year to skip them, to be honest.

They're not great.

But, I think it's going to be a pretty toned down affair.

At least more so than usual.

We'll see how that works with Conan O'Brien.

Because host is calling on O'Brien, right?

Yes.

Who might want to say low key?

But he he could pull that off.

He certainly could.

Yes, he he understands the gravity of the situation.

Of course, he's Southern California himself.

Yes, I think it'll I think it'll be a stately affair.

I'm not sure that's good for the Oscars, because they tend to run on a level of, like, tacky grandiosity in many ways.

So we'll see.

I mean, I think about, Ryan Gosling's I'm just can number from last year.

That's when the Oscars are really fun, when it's just big and broad and hilarious.

Over the top.

Yeah.

Exactly right.

Do you think Conan O'Brien will get slapped by anyone?

Oh, gosh.

I'm trying to think who it would be.

There's so many options.

There's so many options for people who might want to smack Bono.

Yeah.

Let me let me dwell on that one.

I'll get back to you on that.

13 nominations for Amelia Perez.

Okay.

That must mean it's a great movie.

It must.

It.

Clearly, I'm wrong because I can't stand this movie.

And I just don't.

I don't get it.

There have been plenty of Best Picture nominees over the years that I haven't been a fan of.

This might be the first one that I simply just don't understand.

The appeal.

It is about a Mexican drug lord who undergoes, gender reassignment surgery and, decides then once she transitions into a woman to be a good guy and tell the police where all the bodies are of these people that she had killed in her previous life without actually taking responsibility for the deaths themselves.

And so we're kind of put in the position of rooting for this woman, being like, oh, you finally found your good side.

You're a heroine without any without any comeuppance as far as you killed a lot of people.

Beyond that, it has 16 musical numbers.

None of the songs are very good or even very musical.

It's it plays in many ways like a telenovela, sometimes like an opera.

It's tone is all over the map.

I seriously don't get it.

But 13 nominations.

People like it a.

Lot, but 13 nominations doesn't necessarily mean 13 wins.

No, not at all.

I think maybe 3 or 4, I'm guessing.

There are a lot of people.

Thankfully, there are a lot of people like me who don't get what the buzz is all about, necessarily.

I think it's going to be a pretty spread the wealthy year for the Oscars.

And so I don't see it getting even the majority of the 13 nominations.

At least that's what I'm hoping from cross and fingers on that, because give me a break.

I.

Really don't like that movie.

Can you tell?

I'll shut that down.

You do not make a note of that, please.

What's the movie you think's going to be?

The best picture?

It could be a number of them.

I'm going right now with the brutalist, which is about a Hungarian, architect.

Four hours with an intermission.

It is big and it's epic, and it's pretty stunning.

And on a budget of under $9 million to people that are under ten, I should say, to pull that off is kind of extraordinary.

It also has, stunning lead performance by Adrien Brody, who I think is probably gonna win Best actor.

But you can also make an argument for conclave, possibly the rifkind's movie about people, you know, the people vote, because it's it's kind of the one that doesn't offend anybody.

It's, it's it's the one everyone likes without people actively loving or hating it.

And it's, with the kind of balloting that they do for Best Picture.

It's based less on how many people love this movie or this movie than on what's everyone's second favorite or third favorite.

It works kind of that way.

So that's a possibility.

A Nora, I think, is a possibility.

Wicked even could happen.

That's a huge hit with ten nominations.

I want to talk about wicked because okay, when you when you're talking about, like, Barbie, just so much fun.

It's just.

Yeah.

Over the top.

Wicked is kind of the same type of over the top.

Indeed a.

Lot of music and a lot of love for that.

Movie.

Yes.

For sure.

Just like Barbie.

No director nomination, which is interesting.

It's, it's kind of like.

It's almost like these movies get punished for being such a good time.

And in a way.

That's that's, you know, for history.

Though.

Oh, absolutely.

It is.

Yeah.

That goes back 80 or 90 years.

Star Wars or for sure.

Yeah.

But wicked shouldn't be discounted, I don't think, because it does have that passionate fan base.

It's got those two amazing performers, and it is one of the few movies this year that's just fun.

That's just that's it's a good time, when you're faced with Amelia Perez and you're faced with the brutal list and a lot of movies that are considerably more downbeat.

Right, right, right, right.

Yeah.

Let's talk about the best actors.

Okay.

Is it Demi Moore?

I think it's Demi Moore.

Okay.

I'm really excited.

Did you get to see her Golden Globes speech by any chance?

It was great.

Stunning.

Yeah, fantastic.

And a great reminder 45 years in the business.

And that's the first nod for acting she's ever received in her life.

Kind of amazing.

And I thought she was always a decent actor.

You know, back in the day about Last night is one of my favorites of hers or and of course, ghost and A Few Good Men, and you can go on and on.

But she she mentioned her speech.

People thought of her some popcorn actress.

You can make blockbusters, but you don't get prizes just the way it works.

And her movie The Substance is all about that is about someone who's been in the business forever and just feels like she's gotten the raw end of the deal.

And, goes about fixing that in a really disgusting way.

It's a fun movie, I gotta admit.

It does.

Her Golden Globes speech, which really everyone talked about.

Sure.

Heart.

Yeah.

Does that impact the voting, you think?

Absolutely.

Especially in light of the wildfires because the Golden Globes happened.

And what was it two days later?

Southern California was in flames.

And so the last thing that every voter has in their mind, as far as, you know, as far as industry, you know, galas and such would be that Golden Globes event and specifically her speech, because it was a barnburner it was unbelievable.

And, and beyond that, she deserves it.

She's great in that movie.

She's she's the best thing about that movie.

I and I kind of see like, remember when Brendan Fraser won a couple of years ago, right.

Just like that.

Another 90s superstar made a lot of big hits.

Never really got critical respect.

Absolutely.

It feels like that might be happening again.

Best actor.

Best actor.

I'm sticking with Adrien Brody, okay I would, it's a great lineup.

All five of them are amazing.

I'm going to say there's five real strong candidates there.

Colman Domingo is astonishing.

Sebastian Stan doing Donald Trump, but without any of the kind of Alec Baldwin he, you know, parody attached to it.

Ray finds is who I want to get it, because it's 28 years since his last nomination.

He's been great for more than 30.

You can also see Timothee Chalamet pretty easily.

They do like their musical biopics for sure.

And he is tremendous in that film.

He's wonderful.

Do the voters Academy Awards really kind of okay this person it's their turn to win.

Absolutely.

Oh that happens.

That happens all the time.

I would I would say, you can look back to a couple of years ago, you could argue Brendan Fraser, but more specifically, you could argue Michelle Yeoh, who won for everything everywhere all at once, who has been in the business for 30 years and was up against Cate Blanchett, who gave this insanely good performance, entire.

But you compare that with Michelle Yeoh, and you go, Cate Blanchett has two already.

You know, it's maybe it's time to spread the wealth.

So I think that does play into it a lot.

Let's talk about who's all nominated Netflix okay, 16 nominations more than any movie studio.

But yeah, tell me.

13 of them are Amelia Perez.

And that's very true.

And that's a it's a movie they bought out.

Okay.

To say that too.

Yeah, exactly.

Because Netflix, I'm sure, was hoping for better because they did produce the August Wilson adaptation, The Piano Lesson, which got nothing.

Their Maria by Maria Callas biopic.

Got one nomination.

They were probably hoping for a good half dozen.

Hitman by Richard Linklater.

Got nothing.

So it's probably not the greatest morning, even though they got more than anyone else.

Right.

It's probably a little disappointing for the Netflix folk on top of it.

I guess if I was Netflix, I'd raise my rates and then, try to.

There you go.

They should think about doing that every once in a while.

So that's going to happen.

So you're going to see more from Netflix I'm sure in next year in the in the years to come.

Absolutely.

The the basis of Hollywood was really struck.

And we talked about this a number of times.

But the Covid is it rebounding?

Is it coming back?

Are people going to the theaters because, you know, Molina's theater closed down for.

Sure, but that did make a comeback.

So it's back again.

Good.

I would like to I would like to think so.

And but it's always dependent on the movies themselves.

We thought it was over.

And then Tom cruise showed up with top Come to and we all went out of the movies are back.

And then it looked like another year of, nobody cares.

Hey, there's Barbie and Oppenheimer.

Oh, people love the movies and then nobody care.

Oh, look.

Wicked.

Oh, Moana too.

So it's all dependent on what actually comes out.

You get 2 or 3 big hits like that a year.

Movies are are never going to go away.

When I was that kind of.

I looked at the listings for movies.

Yeah.

And you mentioned Moana.

There is a ton of huge animated movies out there right.

Now, for sure.

Yes.

And most of them are pretty great.

That's why I was going to ask you.

I mean, yeah, it really because it becomes a family thing.

But they're over-the-top great.

Yeah.

These days, wild robot.

One of the best things I've seen in years.

Unbelievably good.

Inside Out, of course, was the biggest hit of all last year.

652 million.

What on earth?

I mean, when the original made, you know, 250 or something like that?

Moana easily went over.

You know what they expect from that?

Yeah.

The end of the day, parents want to bring their kids to the movies.

It's a fun time.

It's a fun family event.

And they also like dropping their kids off at the movies if they want two hours of free time.

So it feels like that won't ever go away.

You've got Netflix.

You can put them in the living room for, you know, a couple of hours or sit with them in the living room for a couple hours.

But, boy, the big screen experience.

I mean, there's still very little that's that could match it.

Well, it's still good date night place.

Absolutely.

Right.

Yes.

Yeah.

It's.

Yeah, it's still kind of gives you everything you want and I'm not sure if you've noticed this.

I've noticed a lot fewer cell phones going off.

I've noticed fewer laptops, you know, being super bright a row ahead of you, it feels like people are actually kind of getting it at long last.

Like, this is a place I can get away for a couple hours.

I rarely see those irritations the way we used to not that long ago.

Right.

So maybe people, you know, again, fingers crossed, are getting on board.

Just let this be a magical place for a little bit.

You know.

Our thanks to Mike Schultz, film critic and editor with the River citizen reader on the air, on the radio, on the web, on your mobile device and streaming on your computer.

Thanks for taking some time to join us.

As we talk about the.

Issues of the season.

At IHMVCU.

We've always been here for you.

You are and always will be our top priority.

We care about your financial health and we are here IHMVCU is a proud supporter of Wqpt.

Public affairs programing on Wqpt is brought to you by the Singh Group at Merrill, serving the wealth management needs of clients in the region for over 35 years.