FDA is set to recommend a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine for those with compromised immune systems, Dr. Ravi Patel to be honored as the recipient of the John Brock award and expect the real estate market to remain hot, hot, hot into next year

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other company or publication.

  * ... THIRD DOSE: The Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve a third dose of the

coronavirus vaccine for those people who have compromised immune systems. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser, said that for those with compromised immune systems, the need is "so imminent to make sure that we get them boosted so that they would be in a protected zone." The decision to allow a third dose would come from the Food and Drug Administration, which is expected as early as this week to extend its emergency use authorization on vaccines to allow an additional dose.  Roughly 3% of Americans have an immune system that has been made weaker due to disease, certain medical treatments or organ transplants. For most people, a booster would mean a third dose of vaccine.

 * ... HOT HOUSING MARKETS: If you thought the housing market was hot this year and last, just wait. That's the word from a national research firm that ranked the hottest housing markets for next year (2022), including what percentage the prices may rise in the next year. Hold on because these numbers are staggering: Riverside (21 percent); Las Vegas (23 percent), Boise (23 percent), Salt Lake City (23 percent), Spokane (24 percent), San Jose (24 percent), San Diego (24 percent), Ogden, Utah (25 percent), Phoenix (26 percent), Provo, Utah (28 percent), Fort Myers, Florida (28 percent) and Austin (37 percent).

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "My life is a delicate balance of functional alcoholism and OCD. Some days I wake up from a blackout to a spotless house."

 * ... RAVI PATEL: Good news for one of our local doctors: oncologist Dr. Ravi Patel will be honored as the recipient of the John Brock Community Service Award. Patel, founder of the Comprehensive Blood and Cancer Center, will receive theaward during a recognition dinner on Sept. 9 at Seven Oaks Country Club. Patel is one of the most successful, and popular, doctors in the community and he has been instrumental in building CBCC into one of the most respected medical facilities in town.

 * ... MOJAVE: This lovely old picture, taken from the Kern County of Old Facebook page, shows a woman looking out a building on Main Street in Mojave (Highway 14) looking at the train depot and the Silver Queen mountain in the background.