The past year was a year of profound loss. Taken from so many of us were lives and livelihoods, loves and loved ones. Even facts and universal truths seemed stripped away by a roller coaster pandemic and repeated cycles of social action and reaction. Among the overlooked statistics from this lost year was the terrible toll wrought by drug overdose deaths, which increased by 64 percent in Denver in just one year, adding to our personal and local misery, echoed in similar trends across Colorado and the nation.

For weeks now, a big topic of conversation surrounding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been the variants of the original virus that causes COVID-19 – specifically:

• What are variants?
• What do variants mean if we've been fully vaccinated?
• What do variants mean for wearing masks?

Here is everything that is important to know right now about variants.

August 8-14 is National Health Center Week 2021, an annual celebration to raise awareness about the mission of Community Health Centers across America.

August is National Immunization Awareness Month and a good time to talk about vaccines and why they are so important not just now but throughout history. Vaccines are something most of us don't think about regularly and often take for granted. Since Edward Jenner created the first vaccine in 1796 they have become of vital importance to our health care system. Widespread use of the smallpox vaccine helped wipe out the disease in 1980.  Other diseases, such as polio and diphtheria, have been eliminated in many parts of the world because of vaccinations.