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Should your kids be tricking and treating this year? Hear from a doctor!

October 15, 2020 – Hard to say, even for medical experts.

Be safe of course, but Dr. Maricela Castillo MacKenzie, a pediatrician whose child isn’t old enough for that quest for candy had some thoughts in this week’s COVID313 Virtual Town Hall.

It’s a matter of the parents’ personal comfort, according to the doctor.

Read full transcript

Christine Bell, CEO, Urban Neighborhood Initiatives  This question, is the doctor planning to trick-or-treat if she has kids and this is always so for your own family what are your plans?

Dr. Maricela Castillo Mackenze, Assistant Professor, Family Medicine University of Michigan  I’ve been talking about it with my sister and my husband and so I have an 18 month old.  So, she’s not really into trick-or-treating at all, really.  But we were you know, we were just planning to go to my sister’s home and then trick and treat among ourselves.  So, we weren’t really planning to go, you know, from one house to the other, because of the risks.  And that just in my particular case, my daughter is too little, that she doesn’t really understand Halloween yet.  But I think that as a parent definitely the most important thing is to do what you feel comfortable with and talk to your kid about it.  You know, talk to your kid about, okay, this year Halloween is going to be different, we’re going to do things different.  There’re other activities that we can do during Halloween if you don’t feel comfortable doing trick-or-treating.  Always, always considered, you know, the risk that there’s still risk and there’s still covid out there.  And now we also have the flu.  So, we definitely have to be very conscious and very cautious about it.  And if you’re in, if you have, if you’re not for sure or you’re in, you know, you have questions about it, the best way to go about it is if you don’t feel comfortable doing it, then don’t do it.   And then find another activity to do at home with your kids and just explain that is for their own safety and the safety of your family.

Christine Bell, CEO, Urban Neighborhood Initiatives  In terms of vaccinations, do you plan on getting your daughter vaccinated with the flu shot?

Dr. Maricela Castillo Mackenze, Assistant Professor, Family Medicine University of Michigan  Of course, children got it.  Every year I make sure that she gets a flu shot.  Well, she started last year, she’s only 18 months old.  Soon even, you know, because of covid we’re recommending every year we make so much emphasis on getting flu shots.  And this year we’re making even more emphasis, you know, because of the risk of covid.  So, now we have covid and we have flu, so it’s not a good combination.  So, the more protection we can have against the disease and if it’s just the shot, I mean, yeah, it’s going to be a little painful, but your kid is going to forget about it in a couple of hours.  And the protection that your kid is going to have this season is going to be very important.

Voting absentee and using a dropbox

Melanie McElroy of the Michigan Voice explains how to avoid pitfalls when voting this year as some of the rules are changing with this year’s emphasis on voting absentee.

Detroit alone has thirty dropbox locations for those who want to vote early.

In a highlight from this week’s COVID313 Town Hall, McElroy explains that convicted felons in Michigan who are not now serving prison sentences have the right to vote.

She said there are some telling people they’re ineligible.

“The misconception is pretty wide,” said McElroy, “and we appreciate anyone spreading the truth.”