FDA OKs Pfizer booster for 12- to 15-year olds

Speaker 1: (00:01)

Children as young as 12 can now get the booster shot,

Speaker 2: (00:04)

But this is good news for younger kids, cuz we can now protect them better from the Berry

Speaker 1: (00:10)

I'm Jade Henman. This is K PBS midday edition. There are shortages at the San Diego fire department as OCN spreads. Well, it's

Speaker 3: (00:30)

Definitely gone up and down throughout the pandemic, but this is clearly the worst that we've seen. And if the last few days or any indication we are not done with the increase in is yet

Speaker 1: (00:41)

What king tides tell us about climate change and hear from San Diego jazz trumpet. Great Gilbert Castanos that's ahead on midday edition, Many local rooms reopened today after the holiday break in the midst of yet another wave of coronavirus cases, many coming from the contagious Omicron variant. But this morning, the FDA made an announcement on booster shots for children here to tell us more about it is Dr. Mark Sawyer, an infectious disease specialist with Brady children's hospital and you UC San Diego Sawyer is also a member of the county's vaccine advisory board. Dr. Sawyer. Welcome.

Speaker 2: (01:29)

Good to join you. So

Speaker 1: (01:31)

This morning, the FDA announced it authorized booster shots for children ages 12 to 16. What are the guidelines for this age group that could soon be eligible for the booster?

Speaker 2: (01:42)

Well, we're still waiting for official guidelines. Typically after the FDA approves a vaccine for a new age group, the CDC weighs in on exactly who in that age group should receive the vaccine. And the CDC is scheduled to have their advisory committee meet on Wednesday to, to do just that. So I think by Wednesday or Thursday, we, we will have specific guidelines, but this is good news for younger kids cuz we can now protect them better from the Berry.

Speaker 1: (02:11)

What about boosters for children younger than 12? Have they been approved?

Speaker 2: (02:16)

No, we're not quite there yet. We just started routinely immunizing that age group in November. So we have a few months before they would be Ella, at least based on the current guidelines for older adolescents and adults where we're waiting five months after the last dose, before they get a booster.

Speaker 1: (02:35)

Are there any special circumstances for kids, uh, in that age group five to 12, perhaps immunocompromised or anything like that?

Speaker 2: (02:42)

Yes. Uh, it's a little confusing, but we usually distinguish a booster from a third dose. So people who have problems with their immune system like cancers or transplants, they are recommended to get a third dose instead of just two for their primary series of vaccination. That's been the case for adults and, and adolescents for many months. And now the CDE, the FDA is extending that down to five years of age. So this is not routine boosters. These are only for children who have underlying diseases that affect their immune system.

Speaker 1: (03:18)

And what is the state of authorizing boosters for kids between five and 12 years old?

Speaker 2: (03:23)

Well, I think we need to get some evidence, some data on how that works and, and whether there are any unexpected side effects. I don't anticipate that we will see that the current new recommendation to add boosters for 12 through 50 years of age was based in, in a large part on data from Israel, cuz Israel is ahead of us in their booster campaign. So they had already generated some experience with boosters in the 12 through 15 to show that it was safe and that it worked

Speaker 1: (03:54)

Overall. What is the latest data for the vaccine rate of children in the San Diego region? Uh, have we seen an uptick in children vaccinations, uh, with this latest surge in cases

Speaker 2: (04:06)

We have certainly seen an uptick, but we are way behind in, in the five to 11 year old age bracket. I think the current estimate for San Diego county is only between 20 and 30% of kids in that age group, every received the, the two doses of the vaccine. So we have a long ways to go. Particularly as school starts to reopen in kids' crowd back together in the classroom are

Speaker 1: (04:30)

The new COVID cases, predominantly the Omicron variant at this point.

Speaker 2: (04:35)

Uh, I actually haven't seen the latest data from the county, but in many parts of the country Omicron already taken over as the predominant strain. It is expected that it will do that here, if it hasn't already, because it is much more contagious than the Delta variant, which was our previous predominant strain.

Speaker 1: (04:53)

Do we know more about the Omicron variant today than we did before the holidays? And, and does it affect kids differently than other coronavirus variants we've seen?

Speaker 2: (05:02)

We don't have any evidence that it affects children differently, but lots of children are getting infected because they're not yet immunized because they haven't been eligible to get immunized. So just like in adults, if you're UN immunized, you're much more likely to get infected. So we're seeing that in children in terms of, oh my in general it does seem so far. Like it's less severe than Delta, which is the good news. Many people are getting infected, but not so many are getting really sick or dying from the infection

Speaker 1: (05:34)

Have hospital rates for children increased over the holidays. Where do they stand? Now?

Speaker 2: (05:39)

They have started to go up and certainly, uh, hospital rates and adult hospitals are, are starting to swell significantly so much so that we're worried about capacity again, just as we were in earlier peaks of COVID in our community. So we need to keep a close eye on that. People need to be careful, avoid crowds, indoors, wear a mask. And by all means get vaccinated

Speaker 1: (06:03)

Last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted the current wave of cases is expected to peak in the us at the end of January. Do we have any more information on when the peak of this surge is expected to hit San Diego?

Speaker 2: (06:17)

It's really hard to predict because it depends in part on the vaccination rate of the community. And San Diego is actually in pretty good shape compared to many other communities. We are seeing a rise in cases, but it would be worse if we had less people immunized. It's really difficult to predict, but I, I, it does seem like the peak will occur sometime in the January timeframe. And then go back down again

Speaker 1: (06:42)

Before the holidays, we spoke about the state of the vaccine for children under five and how the dosage was likely to be adjusted, to increase effectiveness in these younger children. Do you have any sense of when children under the age of five will be eligible for the vaccine?

Speaker 2: (06:57)

The Pfizer company that has the vaccine that's been studied the best so far in younger kids under five is adding a third dose to the group that got two doses and the two doses weren't enough to really provide protection for all the younger children. So we have to wait for that information. And that typically takes two to three months. I think it's gonna be three to six months before we see vaccine in the younger age group,

Speaker 1: (07:24)

Should children under the age of five, be in school or daycare right now, given the spread of this variant and their vaccination status.

Speaker 2: (07:32)

Yeah, that's an excellent question. At this point, schools are staying open, daycares are staying open. We we've learned a lot about how to prevent transmission. The, the good news is younger kids when they get infected, usually don't get severely ill, but they do serve as a source of infection for others in their family who may be. So that has to be decided, I think, on a school by school or daycare by daycare basis based on the population and, and how many infections they have,

Speaker 1: (08:01)

But given your, your background, do you think it's a good idea?

Speaker 2: (08:04)

I think it's still reasonable to send young kids to school, particularly if they're old enough to wear a mask, which keeps down the transmission rate. Uh, and we think children over two should be able to wear a mask, uh, much of the time or be outdoors. Certainly being outdoors is the best way to minimize chance of transmission.

Speaker 1: (08:24)

I've been speaking with Dr. Mark Sawyer, pediatric infectious disease expert with radi children's hospital and UC San Diego. Dr. Sawyer, thank you so much for joining us.

Speaker 2: (08:34)

Thank you.

Speaker 1: (08:40)

As surgeon COVID cases continue to impact aspects of daily life. Emergency responders are among the hardest hit by the growing rate of infection. More than a hundred San Diego firefighters are currently in isolation due to potential coronavirus exposure. And the staggering number of staff shortages is having an impact on fire services throughout the department. Joining me now with more is San Diego union Tribune, reporter Lindsay Winkle, Lindsay, welcome back to the program.

Speaker 3: (09:10)

Wow. Thank you so much for having me. So how

Speaker 1: (09:11)

Have these shortages affected firefighting service in San Diego?

Speaker 3: (09:16)

So yesterday we put together a story that sort of explains that because of the sheer number of firefighters who have either tested positive for the coronavirus and are in a state mandated isolation, or they've just been exposed to the virus and they're sort of waiting on test results. The department put together what's called an emergency brownout plan. And essentially what that does is it outlines which fire crews will be idled or brown out if staffing shortages demanded. And

Speaker 1: (09:48)

What percentage of the department staff is currently under isolation protocol,

Speaker 3: (09:52)

113 firefighters are in I at this point and there are 960 roughly total firefighters in the department. So it's a, it's a pretty significant total.

Speaker 1: (10:04)

And how has the department responded to these persistent shortages? I mean, have they put any plans into place? You mentioned the brown

Speaker 3: (10:12)

Outs that is essentially the department's response to it's staffing shortages. And basically what the brownout plan does is it creates sort of a, a roadmap for which kinds of units or crews will be taken offline so that the department can staff as many positions as they possibly can. Uh, so the idea is if they don't have enough bodies to go around, which positions are they going to exist without on any given day, are we seeing

Speaker 1: (10:43)

A noticeable delay in response times to emergencies as a result of these infections?

Speaker 3: (10:48)

It's definitely too early to say if there's a notable impact on response times, but department leaders said yesterday that the that's obviously a possibility, you know, anytime you're taking firefighters or fire crews off the front lines, there's a possibility that that means that those responses to particular calls are going to take longer. It's also a risk to firefighters. You know, firefighters are obviously working within their own teams, but they rely on nearby crews to assist them should things sort of get out of hand. So if you've got less people who are able to respond to any particular incident or offer support during emergencies, you know, it's obviously possible that you're gonna see some, some impacts from that, but yet too early to say definitively, if, if we've seen anything that would be considered you an impact from these brown outs.

Speaker 1: (11:39)

And one of the more notable measures taken has been the temporary closure of certain specialty crews, like the mobile operations detail and the bomb squad. Can you explain their roles within the department?

Speaker 3: (11:51)

There are three specialty crews that are sort of first to be taken offline. That includes the mobile operations detail, which is a, it's actually only a two person crew that works only Friday and Saturday nights in the gas lamp quarter. There's also, what's called squad 55. That's actually another two person crew. They work longer shifts 12 hour shifts from 8:00 AM to PM in Southeastern San Diego. And then you've got the bomb squad. So the bomb squad, another two person team has been its own team for about a year. And when that unit shuts down, those two people actually just embed with an engine company. However, you know, if a bomb call occurs, they're still pulled off to address that incident. So although it sounds like that's the bigger deal, the bigger deal is actually when departments have such a shortage that they need to brown out engine companies. And those are the four person teams consisting of a captain engineer firefighter, and a firefighter paramedic that are responding to the vast majority of the calls in our city.

Speaker 1: (12:50)

As we mentioned earlier, there are more than a hundred firefighters isolation. Are we seeing the worst of this or has this number gone up and down throughout the pandemic?

Speaker 3: (12:59)

Well, it's definitely gone up and down throughout the pandemic, but this is clearly the worst that we've seen. And if the last few days or any indication, we are not done with the increases yet, we're gonna be getting an updated total today. But 113 is higher than the 90 something. It was last week. So it's pretty unclear how far this is gonna go before it starts in, on its downward trend.

Speaker 1: (13:25)

How has overall staffing fared during the pandemic?

Speaker 3: (13:28)

When we talked to the department yesterday about sort of the last time they saw ground outs, they brought up the September 25th incident, which involved an engine being taken out of commission. There were also a couple of other units that were bound out during that time. And just for comparison's sake, only 22 firefighters were in isolation or on leave to take care of family members with COVID at that time. Now, granted, there were a couple of other factors that were sort of fueling up brown out. There was a whole bunch of wildfires in Northern California. And so we had a bunch of people up there helping with that. There was also a fire academy that was canceled and the department was really counting on, uh, you know, a couple dozen people making it through that and they would've been hired, but this is nothing like what we've seen before. So we're very much a new territory right now. Are

Speaker 1: (14:15)

There any specific areas of, uh, San Diego that are impacted by the shortages more than others?

Speaker 3: (14:21)

The short answer is not really now. It's really important to clarify that just because this brownout is in place, that doesn't mean that we are guaranteed to see units taken offline every day. It really depends on sort of the, of available staffing in the moment. Now, the department has identified about a dozen stations across the city that could be impacted by brownouts, but which stations they choose definitely depends on the resources that they have available today. But just to kind of tell people a little bit more about sort of how they chose those stations, only stations that are called double houses are the ones that will be impacted by this. And basically a double house means that they don't just have an engine crew. They also have a truck crew. So even if they lose an engine crew, they still have people at the station to bond to emergencies.

Speaker 1: (15:11)

And today is the mandate for staff vaccination. Do we know how much of the department staff is currently vaccinated?

Speaker 3: (15:18)

Yes. So we do know that it's, it's a fairly high total, at least as of mid-December. So about 83% of the city's firefighters were vaccinated. Um, almost 120 fire fighters though were not fully vaccinated. And another 45 had not reported their vaccination status to the city. Um, there are about 85 who have requested medical or religious exemptions, and we are hoping to get updated figures on that today. And just to sort of answer the, probably the coming question, it is on clear at this point, how many firefighters currently in isolation are vaccinated?

Speaker 1: (15:56)

I've been speaking with San Diego union Tribune, reporter Lindsay wink, Lindsey. Thank you so much for joining us.

Speaker 3: (16:02)

Yeah. Thanks so much for having me.

Speaker 1: (16:18)

You're listening to KPBS midday edition. I'm Jade, Henman scientist and volunteers from here in San Diego to the Oregon border flock to shorelines to document the king tide. That's the unofficial term for the highest the tide gets. These king tides are increasingly important to record say researchers because they offer a look into growing threats to our state from climate change. K C R W's Kayley Wells tagged along during last month's king tide.

Speaker 4: (16:48)

Here we go. Here we go. It's coming up. That was, was a big one.

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Dr. Michael Quill is the Marine programs director for the nonprofit LA water keeper. He's taking pictures of the king tide in Malibu.

Speaker 4: (17:02)

We just had a wave come right up to the steps here.

Speaker 5: (17:05)

He's standing at the top of a staircase that leads to the ironically named rod beach. The beach is disappearing.

Speaker 4: (17:11)

I think there are another 10 stairs below the sand right here that are now that's the high water line.

Speaker 5: (17:17)

Most of the staircase is buried in sand since the tide is getting closer. What's left is wet with ocean spray

Speaker 4: (17:24)

From where the rocks are to this property is just dwindling away, dwindling away, dwindling away. I'd be kind of concerned if I'm sitting there in that house and the water's going under three quarters of my house. I mean, it's just a matter of

Speaker 5: (17:39)

Time. Here's how king tides work. High tides come around twice a day and they're especially high when the sun and the moon are aligned. That happens twice per month when the moon is new. And again, when it's full here's forest Curtis with the nonprofit healed the bay,

Speaker 6: (17:54)

We have an elliptical orbit around the sun, and sometimes we're closer to the sun than other times and in the Northern hemisphere because of the tilt of the earth, that's in the winter time. So, so once per

Speaker 5: (18:05)

Year, usually December or January, we're closest to the sun and the sun's gravitational pull is stronger on us.

Speaker 6: (18:12)

And then in addition to that, our moon has an elliptical, not quite round orbit. And there are times when it's also closer. And so we are experiencing a time where both the moon and the sun are simultaneously the closest they could be to the earth and inside their relative orbits.

Speaker 5: (18:31)

The king tides indicate how high the ocean will get as the climate gets warmer and sea levels rise since the late 18 hundreds, the sea level already has risen globally about nine inches. If we do a great job, curbing our greenhouse gas emissions, then sea levels will rise another 10 inches. If we do a bad job and don't curb our emissions, it could be another eight feet in a worst case scenario. So that's why volunteers are taking pictures of the king tides now and sending them off to environmental scientists like Carrie Bata at the California coastal commission,

Speaker 7: (19:08)

Because there's nothing like getting a real evidence from the ground to show you, you know, where the water is going to go.

Speaker 5: (19:15)

Scientists call it a window into our future as sea levels rise. But Bata says evidence has revealed that it's not just a problem for coastal residents,

Speaker 7: (19:23)

Kind of an evil twin of sea level rise is that the coastal groundwater table also rise as sea levels

Speaker 5: (19:32)

Rise. Recent research out of UC Berkeley found that 145,000 California residents live near a hazardous facility. That's at risk of flooding by 2100 think power plants, oil refineries, and industrial facilities.

Speaker 7: (19:46)

And when you think about things like industrial sites, there might be pollute buried in the soil that haven't been exposed to water for a really long time. And when groundwater rises, those pollutants could be mobilized

Speaker 5: (20:00)

And disadvantaged communities are six times more likely to live near those facilities at risk of flooding. But bath says, there's good news too. This year, California allocated more money than ever toward combating the effects of climate change.

Speaker 7: (20:14)

Sea little rises, making us face kind of unprecedented challenges. But I think that when it comes down to it, we all, we all love our shoreline and we want it to continue to be safe and resilient

Speaker 5: (20:27)

Back on the beach in Malibu, the king tide is over the little window into our future. Only lasts about an hour, but hundreds of photos are on their way to environmental scientists to help us mitigate how much the water rises and plan for a future. When it inevitably does,

Speaker 1: (20:45)

That was Kayley Wells with KCR R w reporting Today is the first day back to school. Following the holiday break for lots of school kids in San Diego county, the fall semester was a time for students to try to gain back learning they'd lost in the fall. They were back in class after more than a year of learning from home due to the pandemic, the COVID shutdown was especially challenging for children with special needs in September K PBS education reporter mg Perez spoke with one other who was determined to make sure her son gets the education he needs.

Speaker 8: (21:36)

Alejandro Blanco is a good speller. He can write his mother's phone number too. That's something he's learned with her help right here at their dining room table.

Speaker 9: (21:45)

I know I have to take care of my son. And since then, I lo I love my son where all my heart and having be his mommy and do everything that IST my power to, for him to be okay.

Speaker 8: (22:04)

Maria Lopez is a single mother raising her son with somehow from his grandmother who he calls mom. Maria is his mommy. Alejandro likes to be called Alex Monday morning. He joined other students in San Diego unified for the first day of school. He is now a freshman at Madison high school. And on September 9th, he turns 14 years old. His mother there remembers the delights and the distress of the day he was born. When the doctor gave her the news

Speaker 9: (22:35)

Me, I was like, hoping that he was fine. And I see him when I saw him. He was so beautiful. He told me that he has down syndrome. So I always like I hold my son. He only had like a little bit

Speaker 8: (22:52)

With the down syndrome diagnosis. Alex has received special education support and therapy throughout his elementary and middle school years. That includes an annual individual education program called an I E P. That's a federal legal document that outlines goals and services for each student with special needs, regular meetings for parents and teachers are part of the program. The COVID shutdown, forced teachers to scramble to hold IEP meetings online or by phone.

Speaker 10: (23:21)

I think they thought the federal government was gonna come in and give them a pass for all of this.

Speaker 8: (23:26)

Jennifer RA taught special education for 30 years. Now she's a professional special education advocate who supports parents during IEP meetings with school administrators and teachers,

Speaker 10: (23:38)

Really parents just wanna know, um, where their kids are at. If they've regressed during this time. Um, if they've made progress with virtual learning, they

Speaker 8: (23:49)

Just want answers. This fall, San Diego unified is offering online learning through its virtual academy program and will also offer a choice of online or in-person IEP meetings, right? While Alex made some progress while learning at home is mother is happy that he's at Madison high school now where he has friends,

Speaker 9: (24:09)

I want the best for him. And I want, I know he can learn a lot. If you, if you, if you work with him, I know he can do a lot of things and, and he can be, be success for successful for his and for later on, yes. Show us what

Speaker 8: (24:31)

You got Alex later on for this young man means after he turns 21 and ages out of the school support system as an adult, while that's seven years away for Alex, Maria Lopez says every semester counts, she feels most comfortable expressing the love for her son in her first language, a

Speaker 9: (25:00)

Love

Speaker 8: (25:00)

Modeled and learned in the most important lesson of all mg Perez, KPBS news,

Speaker 1: (25:15)

California report magazine, host, Sasha Coka, revisits, a piece she did about Juanita Moore. More appeared in more than 80 movies in TV shows over her seven decade career.

Speaker 11: (25:27)

She was a showgirl at 18 at smalls paradise at the Zanzibar club, several venues throughout New York during the Harlem Renaissance. This was in the thirties,

Speaker 12: (25:40)

That's her nephew, our net more he's 75 and he's on a lone mission to get her a star on the high Hollywood walk of fame.

Speaker 11: (25:48)

She sang at the London palladium at the Mulan Rouge, and she even had a chance to sing and dance with Josephine baker and other prominent blacks. During that time,

Speaker 12: (26:00)

When Juanita returned to California and got into acting, she found it was hard to break out of stereotypical

Speaker 11: (26:06)

Roles. She was from the OI to the jungle. In other words, she played a maid to a Savage, and that was her early career. Mm-hmm . Those

Speaker 12: (26:17)

Were the roles available to, to black women. At the time

Speaker 11: (26:20)

They were the roles available to black women. And one thing she wouldn't do is play the Mafi role or the buffoon role. She would not do those.

Speaker 12: (26:32)

It wasn't until 1959, when she started an imitation of life. That her true talents were finally recognized.

Speaker 13: (26:40)

I just wanna look at you. That's why I came. Oh, you're happy here, honey. Oh, you're finding what you really want. I'm somebody else I'm white, white

Speaker 12: (26:55)

Juanita plays Annie, a mom whose light skinned daughter, Sarah Jane rejects her black identity and tries to pass as white.

Speaker 13: (27:04)

Then if by accident, we should ever pass on the street. Please don't recognize me. I won't Sarah Jane. I promise. I said all that in

Speaker 11: (27:15)

My mind. I remember that it was a very emotional picture and it still remains. So I once was asked by a friend of mine. Did you cry during the imitation of life? He was. I said, no, I didn't want him to think I cried. But yes, I cry even today. And I cried then

Speaker 13: (27:33)

Suring. Oh my baby, my beautiful, beautiful baby. I love you so much. Nothing you ever do can stop that.

Speaker 12: (27:48)

Love it. In 1995, Juanita talked about that role in an interview with Turner classic movies. She remembered what the film's producer Ross hunter told her when she got the part nearly 40 years earlier,

Speaker 14: (28:02)

Juanita, he said, I I've put my neck out for you. He said, if you no good, the picture's not gonna be any good. And it just scared me to death, you know, to, to say that

Speaker 12: (28:11)

That's a lot of

Speaker 11: (28:12)

Pressure. And she says that really, that was her coming out too. She had been in movies prior to that playing small parts and some accredited parts, but was her opportunity to bust out at 44 years old.

Speaker 15: (28:29)

Ladies and gentlemen, I've been asked to give the award for the best performance, by an actress in a supporting role, or to put it more succinctly, the best picture steel

Speaker 12: (28:39)

Juanita got an academy award nomination.

Speaker 15: (28:42)

The nominees are ham Maye badly for room at the top. Susan Kona for imitation of life, Juanita Moore for imitation of life.

Speaker 12: (28:51)

Even though she didn't win. Juanita Moore was only the fifth black actor at that point to have been nominated for an Oscar.

Speaker 11: (29:00)

She was a trailblazer. She opened doors and today a lot of actors of color are not having to deal with some of the things she dealt with. I'm not saying it's easy, but it's not like it was because of people like her and Sidney Portier and others that stuck their necks out early on

Speaker 12: (29:23)

After imitation of life, Juanita hope she could star in her own films or at least be cast in more substantive roles, but she didn't get offered another part for a year.

Speaker 14: (29:34)

I didn't want to carry the trays anymore. And I knew that that was all on the kind of job that I was gonna get. I knew that, but I did not wanna do that. So I don't know if being nominated, uh, helped me or not,

Speaker 12: (29:50)

But true to her passion. She never quit acting. She went on to perform mostly small roles. Her last part was in 2000 as a grandmother in Disney's the kid with Bruce Willis. She died just before new year's day, 2014 at the age of 99. Arnette says when he was a kid growing up in LA, his aunt never talked much about her career. He's had to uncover her history himself after her death, including digging up hundreds of photos. Uh,

Speaker 11: (30:22)

Let's see, this is my booklet that I put together on Juanita. That's Juanita Sam Davis, Jr. And they took this and Sammy wasn't even in the movie, but he was a friend of Juanita.

Speaker 12: (30:36)

Annette is a retired salesman. He doesn't have big connections with the film industry, but over the last two years, he's launched a grassroots campaign for Juanita Moore to get a Hollywood star.

Speaker 11: (30:48)

You know, in the fifties, when I was growing up, when you saw a black person on the TV screen, you got excited and Juanita was that face you saw again. And in, and again, I'm very proud of her. She had our, a lot of obstacles, the biggest one being racism. She's a star without a star.

Speaker 12: (31:17)

And here's an update to that story. Our net Moore submitted his application for the third year in her row, this spring and Juanita Moore lost out to stars like Naomi Watts and Benedict Cumberbatch. But Annette says, he's gonna keep trying until his aunt is finally recognized on the Hollywood walk of VA.

Speaker 1: (31:37)

That was California report magazine host, Sasha Coca you're listen to K PBS midday edition. I'm Jade. Henman this time last year, San Diego, jazz trumpet. Great Gilbert Castanos told us about his ordeal through career threatening dental and medical problems and the string of groundbreaking dental procedures that allowed him to play again. We asked him about the music that got him through the, or deal as well as the artist that shaped his musical journey. Here's Castanos himself with his story and a playlist of his influences

Speaker 16: (32:13)

Over the last few years. Yes, I have been struggling with not only some dental issues, but with my lower jaw, I started to experience some severe pain when I would play. And, uh, the pain just got worse and worse. And to the point where I literally was starting to approach the trumpet from a standpoint where, um, every day was a struggle, uh, I would be very inconsistent with my plane and, uh, some days I would sound great others. It was just, uh, I would sound like a complete beginner. It's been a long journey with the medical procedures that I've been going through and Dr. Roy vector, my dentist, I am extremely grateful for him because he literally made, um, devices that have never been made before. In order for me to continue playing the trumpet

Speaker 17: (33:34)

I

Speaker 16: (33:43)

Music has, has gotten me through this, this whole, um, nightmare in a way. But one particular song that really stands out is a, a tune entitled. There is no greater love by the great Dyna Washington in which is my favorite version of this particular, uh, song for me, it represents me and the music being in love with the music and the love of the music returning the favor. It's almost like if you take care of the music, the music will take care of you

Speaker 17: (34:19)

Then is no greater love than what I feel for you. No, Noha so true. There is no greater thrill than what you bring to me. No sweet. Then what you sing to you? The sweetest thing,

Speaker 16: (35:28)

Clifford Brownwood strings, uh, was definitely the soundtrack to my life and it continues to be the soundtrack to my life. It was a particular album that was introduced to me by my father who is also a musician. I just remember in junior high and even in high school playing along the records. And, uh, one of my favorites to play is embraceable. You

Speaker 17: (36:11)

And I, I

Speaker 16: (37:01)

Los Panchos, um, that's what they're really known as, um, but everybody calls 'em trio, Los Panchos, but Los Panchos, um, that's really my roots. That's where, that's how I grew up. I grew up around an environment where my mother would be singing around the house and my father would play all of these, uh, particular songs that I grew up listening to by Los spans, uh, in his, in his groups. And that's how I learned about my heritage, my Mexican heritage by learning, uh, beautiful songs, BS like. So,

Speaker 17: (37:44)

So

Speaker 16: (38:14)

One of my favorite songs of all time is reasons. And, uh, that particular of song I would play when I had my Hammond B3 quartet. That was like a, a part of, uh, my, my set. And I would play it probably three, four nights a week, but, uh, I just grew up around a lot of women and, and they all loved earth winning fire, and it was just a natural thing for me to embrace that and, and to also make it a part of my life and, and part of my, uh, musical taste.

Speaker 17: (38:47)

Yeah. All winner prize

Speaker 16: (39:24)

For FAUS. Uh, there's a very interesting story behind this particular song that I, that I picked when I heard her sing, I was just mesmerized by her voice. Um, I was so intrigued by her and moved by her that I started to do some more research on her and, uh, found out that she is considered like the musical icon of Lebanon. And they would play her every morning on the loud speakers. And there's a song in, in that's really kind of her hit it's called lat.

Speaker 18: (40:15)

And

Speaker 16: (40:36)

I decided to adapt that for, uh, one of my albums and record it as a jazz version. And that one is also on my album underground. And so you can hear a jazz version of a Faroh tune played with, uh, with jazz instruments. She not only was an influence with her music, but also how I approached the trumpet because when I played the Trump, Trump, it, I don't wanna play the trumpet. I wanna sing through my trumpet.

Speaker 16: (41:36)

I think I own three copies of bags and train on vinyl. And I also have, um, the CD version and I still have the original pressing that I just played to death. You can't even put it on the record player anymore because they won't even play. Uh, but I still own that copy that I grew up listening to just, uh, dissecting it and transcribing, uh, songs off the album and memorizing the solos and, you know, pretending that I was in the band. And, uh, you know, it, it's just, uh, one of those albums that, that I, I always encourage all my students, um, and fellow musicians to, to really listen to, because it's one that, uh, of, of an obscure album by John Colt and that doesn't really get a lot of attention. I believe there's a song on there called the night. We called it a day.

Speaker 17: (42:53)

The

Speaker 16: (42:58)

Let's just say that I wasn't able to play the trumpet again. I would've found another format to express my, my music and to, to get, to get it out. Um, my sound is not in my trumpet. My sound is in my head and I can approach music from any standpoint. It's, it's really, uh, the way the easiest way to describe it, picture the trumpet, being the vehicle, and then picture your sound, which is in your head being the steering wheel. So I can just take that steering wheel and put it on any instrument. And, uh, if I work hard enough, I can, I can still put it, use my sound and, and, uh, get, get the, the message out through music that way. Um, it may take me a little longer to figure out how to play saxophone or how to play piano. Uh, but it's, it's all there. It's, it's, everything is in my head and that's why I love teaching because, um, I've always had that, um, to fall back on and case, um, you know, I ended up being paralyzed or, um, you know, my lips sealed together where I couldn't play any win instrument. So, um, the power of music is just unbelievable. Um, beyond, beyond words, it's so spiritual and, um, healing and, and, and you can approach it from so many different points of view

Speaker 1: (44:17)

That was jazz trumpeter, Gilbert Castanos,