August 20, 2021 | Vol. XLIII No. 34

Page 1

Signal Tribune

INSIDE: Terrasage Home go from pop-up darlings to SteelCraft flagship location

Your Weekly Community Newspaper

VOL. XLIII NO. 34

see page 2

Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and Signal Hill

Friday, August 20, 2021 COVID-19

LOCAL BUSINESS

She organized fairytale parties for nearly two decades.

Pexels

LB will offer third vaccine doses for certain immunecompromised individuals

Now, this business owner is working to secure her own happily ever after.

Staff Report Signal Tribune

F

Karla M. Enriquez Digital Editor

or over 19 years Elena Effler has been in the business of bringing storybook tales to life, but after almost losing it all to the pandemic, fully opening her Bixby tea room location has been a “dream come true.” The pink walls of Dream Come True Tea and Party Room set the tone to the Marie Antoinette meets Alice in Wonderland setting where children and adults can enjoy tea, sandwiches, salads and pastries. The eclectic artwork that lines the walls has been collected by Effler through the years, through her mobile party business origins, to her first location. As a reminder of her own perseverance, Effler has a portrait near the entrance of two girls in Victorian dresses and powder pink and blue wigs holding teacups. “About 20 years ago, somebody gave me a little postcard of that print and I said ‘One day I’m going to have a tea room and I’m going to blow it up really big on the wall,’ so that was one of the first things that I did,” Effler said. However, in 2020 Effler was fighting to keep her business alive. When the March 2020 lockdown struck, Effler—like many other business see DREAM COME TRUE page 5

Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune

Elena Effler, owner of the Dream Come True Tea & Party Room, poses for a portrait near the shop’s front window on Aug. 18, 2021.

On Thursday, Aug. 12, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that immune-compromised recipients of both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines could receive a third vaccine dose. The Long Beach Health and Human Services Department and other COVID-19 vaccine providers in the city will begin offering third doses to these individuals. “It’s important for folks who are immune-compromised to consider a third vaccine dose,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. “Long Beach will continue to offer vaccines to those who need them.” The third vaccine is not a Delta booster shot. In a statement, the Health and Human Services Department cited studies that show that some immune-compromised individuals don’t always build the same level of immunity after vaccination as other individuals. Those eligible for a third dose include people who have any of the following: (1) Been receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood (2) Received an organ transplant and are taking medicine to suppress the immune system (3) Received a stem cell transplant within the last 2 years or are taking medicine to suppress the immune system (4) Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome) (5) Advanced or untreated HIV infection (6) Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress your immune response. In small studies, fully vaccinated immunocompromised people have accounted for a large proportion of hospitalized “breakthrough cases.” Individuals with breakthrough cases are more likely to transmit the virus to others. Third doses can be administered at see THIRD DOSE page 7

INDOOR DINING IS BACK 20 BEERS ON TAP / HAPPY HOUR DAILY 2:00-5:00 OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK AT 11 A.M. @JIMMYESBARANDGRILL

JIMMY E’S BAR + GRILL

2591 CHERRY AVE, SIGNAL HILL, CA / (562) 612-3456 / JimmyEsBarandGrill.com


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