The transition of public policy to “Living with CoVid-19” has been publicly announced. While it is coming, the implications are not yet known. What does “Living with CoVid-19” really mean? I am trying to figure this out, as there is scant honest information that I have gleaned from the news.
Living with CoVid-19 means that, as a public health policy, the government will roll back restrictions that were used to limit the damage the pandemic has done on people as a whole. As the CoVid-19 pandemic has gone on for over two years now, and we’ve experienced the 5th wave, we are well used to what will come next and how to deal with it. People in general are quite tired of lockdown measures, and are protesting against them. This is understandable. Living with CoVid-19 offers a possible resumption of our pre-pandemic life, though there are some implications that are not usually mentioned.
At the beginning of the pandemic the government began a series of lockdowns, used in order to limit contact between people, and therefore limit infections. These measures infringed on our freedom of movement, for the greater good of society. Lockdown measures were meant to “flatten the curve”, so as to not overwhelm our health care system. If so many people got sick at the same time, the health care system and hospitals would be overrun with patients, and would quickly collapse.
Health care contact testing and tracing has also been greatly curtailed, and only now used for those in hospital. There seems to be no use to test people for CoVid-19 when the virus is so widespread. If you have symptoms then assume you have it, stay home for 5 to 10 days, and recover at home.
Reduced Hospitalization, Weaker health Care System
The current Omicron wave seems to, on the surface, be much more transmissible but not as deadly as the last Delta wave. While more people are contracting CoVid-19, their hospital and ICU stays seem to be reduced. his means that people can contract the virus, but stay at home and wait it out until they are not contagious. Most people who have been immunized will recover on their own, without hospital care.
This is good, because hospital workers, nurses and doctors have been run ragged for the last two years, and are quitting in droves. This reduced the strength of our health care and hospital system. Such a deficit of talent will continue to dwindle, and be quite difficult to overcome for many years. Just like most other areas of industry, workers are getting sick and staying off work for longer periods of time. Surgeries for non-CoVid-19 diseases have been delayed and now there is a 3 year backlog, on top of the pre-pandemic backlog of surgeries. Such weakening of the health care system should be very concerning for everyone, yet it seems to fly under the radar.
Move from Societal Restrictions to Personal Risk Management
Closure of non-essential businesses has been a hallmark of our lockdown time. With the closure of businesses there is less contact between people, fewer infections, the flattening of the curve and therefore hospitals are not overrun. This cannot continue indefinitely because these businesses will go bankrupt, further disrupting society.
Lockdowns have also damaged the social well being of the elderly and the very young. Kids cannot go back to school, affecting their socialization. The elderly cannot see their families, further isolating them, resulting in greater psychological damage. This cannot continue indefinitely.
After 5 waves of the pandemic, we all personally know what to do to reduce the risk of serious illness: get vaccinated, wear a mask, reduce exposure to large crowds, keep 2 meters away from others, go to well ventilated places only, if you are sick then stay home. These have not changed since the second wave.
Instead of non-essential business lockdowns, we can now move from government mandated policies to one of personal risk responsibility. The virus is still present, circulating nad making people sick, but stores and businesses can still open. It is up to each individual to do as many or as few actions to limit their exposure to the virus. If you contract the virus and are immunized, then usually you will be able to recover on your own, in your own house, all without visiting a hospital or doctor. If you do get really sick then hospitals are under great pressure but should be able to still admit you. You will be able to get a PCR test confirming CoVid-19 and have treatment.
There are those that do not wish to get vaccinated. The government has bent over backwards to offer everyone free and safe CoVid-19 vaccines. They have begged people to get them, but for some, they will not do it. It is their personal human right to decide. During the Living with CoVid-19 stage they will eventually be free to live their life as they wish. That said they are still able to contract CoVid-19, and without any protection their illness will be much more severe. Living with CoVid-19 will allow them to make this choice for themselves. The health care system continues to offer them the ability to recover. Incentives to getting the vaccines, such as vaccine passports, will eventually be removed.
More Frequent Deaths of the Elderly and Immune-compromised
CoVid-19 seems to attack the elderly much more than the young. Omicron also has escaped complete vaccine protection, meaning even if you have your two vaccines and a booster, you can still contract the virus. While the young react very well to vaccines and boost their immunity, it seems that the elderly immune system is not as robust. As society opens up, and people circulate more, the elderly will be at more risk of contracting CoVid-19 and then dying. Even if they do all the right public health measures, we must really depend on a person’s immune system to fight against CoVid-19. If the immune system cannot withstand the challenge then they are at much higher risk of death. We should expect to see higher death stats from long-term care facilities.
Less Covid-19 Tracking and News
With reduced and highly restricted PCR testing there is much less data to track the virus spread. There is less accurate news about CoVid-19. It is therefore much more difficult for the public to know if virus spread is getting worse or better, and maybe this is the point. It may not matter anymore. Maybe this is the point of the Living with CoVid-19 policy. Even with greater accuracy of infections, what can we, as individuals, do about it? I would prefer to see more accurate infection numbers and then take this into account for my personal risk assessment. Alas, we now have little data to assess.
Other Implications
So many infections throughout the world will allow CoVid-19 to mutate. I doubt that Omicron will be the last. With new variants on the horizon, can will continue the Living With CoVid-19 policy if a new variant is more deadly than Omicron? We can only wait and see.
I am expecting restaurant and retail stores to not return to pre-pandemic business levels for quite long time. While Living with CoVid-19 may make sense as a public policy, it does not decrease the perceived risk to individuals. Doffing your mask to eat, or even work out at a gym, continues to be more dangerous than taking out and eating at home. Thee will be major changes to restaurants, retail and travel in the future, as these industries struggle to stay alive. I suppose that, over the long-term, we will get used to this level of risk.
Mask wearing will continue for quite a long time. In Asia mask wearing was very common, protecting people from the common cold. This is now a norm here in the West, and is a good thing. If you are unsure of your surroundings, then you can always wear a face mask.
We must find a way to co-exist with CoVid-19, because it will not disappear on its own. Our governments have done as much as they can to protect us. The ultimate responsibility, as always, lies with each individual. How much risk are you willing to take in your daily life? Some people do risky acts and others are more conservative. Each person must decide.
