It has been over two years since CoVid-19 has blighted the earth. From Wuhan, China, it spanned out all over the earth, reproducing and growing, maiming and killing people. The race between CoVid-19 strains results in the winner finding ever better ways of infecting humans and animals. The other strains die off. Much has been done to blunt the sword of Covid-19, but now we are at a point where we’ve chosen to live with the virus instead of trying to eradicate it. CoVid-19 is formidable and is here to stay.
CoVid-19 vaccines have been invented, tested and deployed. These have been extremely effective in protecting people from hospital stays and death. There are the two shots and then a booster, but they are not perfect, and not able to help everyone all the time. As one of the most powerful tools we have against CoVid-19, we must continue to rely on them.
Apart from CoVid-19 vaccines is the knowledge that using face masks, keeping 2m away from others, proper ventilation, and not going to crowded places. All are additional layers of protection. The best way to avoid CoVid-19 is to not be close to someone who has it.
Two years have passed and we have learned a lot. We, here in Ontario, are in our 5th wave. We’ve had 5 opportunities to prep for the same virus. Our health care system has broken down. Our CoVid-19 testing, tracking and contact tracing is close to breaking down, or has been abandoned and overrun. We have tried to convince those who wish to not get vaccinated, that they will protect themselves better by getting the shot.
After two years, it is time for the coddling to end. Over 82% of Ontarians have gotten two does of the vaccine. This seems to be the best we can do. Though the Omicron wave has yet to pass, restrictions are being loosened. This means loosening one layer of protection, restrictions, a trade for more social interactions and commerce. The risk of infection is still present, but much less blunted for the vaccinated. Each individual must decide on the risk they wish to take. In reality this was always the case with vuruses and bacteria, but we just never acknowledged it. CoVid-19 has forced us to determine and manage our risk levels.
For the unvaccinated they also benefit from looser restrictions, but without previous vaccine protection there is one important protective layer missing. Relying only on their innate immune system, the unvaccinated will face the virus head on, and will either contract the virus and live, be injured, or die. The coddling is over, and the virus will take its best shot against their immune systems. CoVid-19 does not listen to politics or beliefs. As a doctor said to me, you cannot protect a patient from their own decisions.
The implications for society are that the health care system will feel the brunt of increased infections and hospital stays. Our publicly funded hospitals could be overrun. Surgeries and health care for non-CoVid-19 issues may be again delayed. People may not feel comfortable in public spaces such as stores and restaurants, and will continue to stay away. These are all part of the cost of the transition.
Where once health care professionals asked us to shelter in place and “bend the curve”, we’ve flattened out the infection curve as much as we can. That phase of the pandemic has finished. We now will transition to what they call “endemic”, of a disease or condition) regularly found among particular people or in a certain area. We know the risks, we know the layers of extra protection and have prepared as best we can, so there’s no point in further lockdowns.
For a period of time our health care system will be overrun, as CoVid-19 takes its best shot at the population at large, sickening and killing some. We have prepared as best we can, so now we live with the virus. In the long run, when I do not know, we will adapt or die. With every new infection comes the chance of biodiversity, where the virus can mutate and adapt even further. Expect further versions of CoVid-19 in the future, but we have an arsenal of weapons, levels of protection that we can count on.
