Meeting Recording
A recording of Today’s Meeting can be found
herePresident's Comments
President Adrian welcomed everyone to our meeting today in this the 67th week of our 18 month anniversary “year” recognition.
Visiting Rotarians
PDG Mike Lawrie, RC of Cambridge Sunrise, Guest Speaker
DG Sandhya Maini, RC of Burlington North
Happy Jar
Louise Gardiner, although sad that her trip to the Maritimes was cancelled due to hurricane Fiona, is happy that she and Graham did get down south recently and that the whole family was able to get together this past weekend of r late Thanksgiving celebration.
DG Sandhya Maini is very happy that the RLI training went well on the weekend and that we had a very good turnout for it.
Lumi Mironescu is delighted that the president of her company has become aware of the association award she received last year and as a result has offered to make a donation to the charity of her choice in recognition of it and will be providing gift cards for our Online Auction.
Club Announcements
Catch The Ace
Yes, Virginia, there is an Ace of Spades! Only four cards left and one of them is the Ace, but which one is it? Last week's winner Debbie W. chose card #45 revealing the nine of Clubs. She won the weekly prize of $2,377, our largest weekly prize in this round.
YOU could be our next winner! But you have a ticket! When you buy tickets you have a chance to win the weekly prize and if your card is the Ace of Spades you will also win the Progressive Prize which is over $42,000. The next weekly draw is on Thursday October 20th.
Don't forget that you have to purchase a ticket the week of the draw to qualify for both the weekly and progressive jackpot!
When you play Catch the Ace not only do you have a chance to win great prizes but you also win by knowing that the net proceeds will all be going to
KidsAbility.
Youth Exchange
After cancellations due to COVD-19 Rotary International Youth Exchange is back on! Any member interested in assisting with the program of just wanting to learn more is asked to contact Tom Mennill or Boyd Pendleton. One of the major tasks at this stage is to select an outbound student for next year. Any who knows of a high school aged student who may be interested is also asked to contact Tom or Boyd.
Online Auction
Our Online Auction is well underway. If you have not already responded to the Request to help with the sign distribution on Saturday, October 22, please do so. Members are also reminded to please seek out sponsors or donors of items for the Auction. Our goal is to have each member of the club secure a minimum of $500 in donations or sponsorships. Please contact Neil Swayze or Bill Proctor if you have any questions and when you have items to be picked up.
Dom Cardillo Trail Clean Up
Members are reminded that our meeting next week, October 24, will be our annual fall cleanup of the Dom Cardillo Trail. Please register on line or decline if you are not able to participate.
Nutrition For Learning Program at Forest Hill Public School
This popular hands-on community support program is back! All members will have received an email from Martin Jones explaining the project but if you missed it and would like more information please contact Martin directly. With sufficient participate by members, commitment to this activity is only about 1 hour every few months.
Tracking of Volunteer Hours
To better understand the impact Rotarians have in their community we are tracking the number of volunteer hours provided by club members for one year. Committee chairs are reminded to track these hours beginning October 1 and to send reports to Louise Gardiner at the end of each month.
Program Highlights
Add Text Here
Our Program today was on Polio and the Rotary Polio Plus Campaign to eradicate Polio presented by PDG Dr. Mike Lawrie who was introduced by Ernie Ginsler.
Mike is a retired Family Physician having practiced in Cambridge for 40 years, a former Chief of Staff and College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2006 and a Physician of the Year. He joined Rotary in 1987 and his home club is Cambridge Sunrise. Mike has been club president 3 times, is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, a major donor, Bequest Society Member and has made 2 humanitarian trips to the Dominican Republic. Mike and Louise have been married 50 years, they have 3 children and 7 grandchildren. Other volunteer leadership positions include his local Cambridge Symphony and Board Chair at his church. Outside interests include fitness, running and cycling and fantasy mountaineering.
Mike began by pointing out that, although we have done a tremendous amount of work towards eradicating Polio with fantastic results there is still work to be done to achieve the ultimate goal. The feature story in this month’s rotary magazine, October 2, covers much of the background and successes to date of our Polio Plus project and is highly recommended reading.
Other highlights of his presentation include:
History, Etiology, and Pathogenesis of the Disease
- Polio is a highly contagious viral disease
- There are accounts of it going back to ancient Egyptian times
Diagnosis & Treatment
- Clinical diagnosis (e.g., physical symptoms) vs lab diagnosis (e.g. blood or stool analysis)
- Spreads from hand to mouth – poor hygiene, virus shed in the stool
- Public health measures – hand hygiene, distancing
- Can measure the presence of the virus and the subtype by testing sewer water
Clinical Course of the Disease
- Most affected with Polio do recover
- A few will die
- 1 in 200 left with mild to serious / life altering paralysis
- The Iron lung saved many lives
Development of the vaccines by Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin
- Salk developed the Inactivated Polio Vaccine IPV which had to be injected
- Sabin developed the Oral Polio Vaccine OPV
Rotary’s Involvement
- In 1985 there were > 350, 000 cases of paralytic polio
- Rotary’s involvement started that year RIP Clem Renouff
- 1988 The Global Polio Eradication Initiative GPEI
- Partners: CDC, WHO, Unicef, Gates Foundation
- Since that time polio has been 99.9 % eradicated
Global Polio Eradication Initiative - Partners
- Rotary International
- World Health Organization
- Gavi – The Global Vaccine Alliance
- CDC – Centre for Disease Control
- UNICEF
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Current Status
- In 2021 there was only one new case of Polio reported
- In 2022there have been 2022 case so far, including one in New York (contracted through contact with a foreign visitor)
- The increase is due in part to the impact of COVID-19 and the reduction in administration of the oral vaccine
- This emphasizes the fact that until we achieve total eradication it will keep reappearing
Continued Support from the Bill & Melinda gates Foundation
- The Foundation has allocated an additional $1.2 Billion to support efforts to end all forms of polio from 2022-26.
- This in addition to the commitment to RI for a 2:1 match each year we raise $50 million.
- The Foundation has contributed almost $5 Billion to the eradication project
The Polio Plus Society
- Rotarians wanting to provide additional financial support to the Polio Plus program can join the Polio Plus Society
- A pledge of $100 US annual is made
- Additional information and a link to the application form will be sent to all members
Closing Remarks & Reminders
President Adrian reminded members to help in finding items for the Online Auction and also that next week we will be meeting in person at the Trail Clean-up.
