Dear Readers: An unfortunate fact in today’s COVID-19 world: Our loved ones who reside in retirement homes or senior living facilities can be at greater risk to contract and spread the virus, and to become seriously ill.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at www.cdc.gov is recommending that groups — folks in close contact with each other, such as those in a nursing home — receive the vaccine sooner rather than later. As more vaccine is developed, more groups will be vaccinated.

The CDC still advocates for these measures to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus: wearing a mask, frequent handwashing and keeping 6 feet between you and everyone else (social distancing). — Heloise

P.S. Frontline health care workers are also at the head of the line for the vaccine.

TECH TALK TUESDAY

Dear Readers: Cut or copy and paste? When drafting a document, do you know the difference? The “cut” command removes text completely from your document, and the “copy” command replicates the text.

Both units of information are parked on the “clipboard” (a temporary file held in the computer’s random-access memory, or RAM) until you are ready to move them to their new document.

Cut, copy and paste can save a lot of time and retyping effort, but ensure what you’re duplicating isn’t protected material. — Heloise

NAME AND NUMBER

Dear Heloise: My neighbor who is a police officer says personalized doormats are bad news. Someone with evil intentions does not need to know your family’s last name and your address, or even your last initial. Skip these in favor of plain doormats. — Elizabeth R. in Texas

DON’T ASK ME …

Dear Heloise: I have a teenage daughter who is blind. Here is our message:

When you see us — Ann, my daughter, and me — talk directly to Anne. Don’t say to me, “What’s her name?” “How old is she?” She can hear you, and, like most people, she loves to talk about herself. Ha ha.

Say, “What’s your name?” “How old are you?” And Anne is happy to talk with you about her seeing-eye dog Rowan, but don’t pet him; he’s working. — Emily T. in Texas

Emily, such important information. Thank you for writing in, and Anne and Rowan, here’s to you. — Heloise

BETTER TO GIVE …

Dear Heloise: Feeling sad and anxious about the pandemic, my husband and I decided not to give gifts to each other this year. Following a suggestion by a charity advocating for the homeless, we packed shoe boxes with new hats, gloves, socks, underwear, toiletries, candy bars, small first aid kits, etc., and gave them to the homeless in our community.

The tangible act of ordering the items, filling and wrapping up the boxes with Christmas paper made me happy. — Ruth G

FAST FACTS

New uses for antique photographs:

— Frame and display in a collection on a wall or a table.

— Scan into your computer and use as a screensaver.

— Place on a desk in a nice order and place a sheet of glass on top to protect the old photos.

— Display a special collection of family wedding photos or baby pictures.

Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com. I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.