Back to the favorite rumor mill all around. COVID-19. When would it slow down? In recent days there have been a lot of predictions.
From experts to so-called experts. Bill Gates has predicted that this might be the last wave of tough few months and the virus should peter itself out with lesser efficacy strains. Others are talking about Omicron as equivalent to the common cold and the flu. And fortune tellers. My mother-in-law informed me that the virus will be over on April 22 of 2022. She heard from a famous Indian fortune teller that the stars foretell that the tides will be turning after that. Thank god for small mercies. Hallelujah! Let’s lock these dates up and cast them in stone.
These are all good predictions. And as good as any other. And wrong. As they have been wrong several times before. No one really knows. Including the experts. This is new territory and new ground. If they keep predicting long enough, finally one day they will get one prediction right and claim credit for it, quietly ignoring the 1,000 erroneous ones.
But for now, my in-laws have got their dose of vaccine (Pfizer-Pfizer-Moderna). My family and I are scheduled to get ours on Jan 3rd. And I am still trying to decide whether I should go with a third Moderna shot or mix it up with a Pfizer. Different studies tell different things depending on who you ask. If you ask the manufacturers of course they say theirs is superior.
And I still consider the pandemic end is a while away. Globally, the measured infection rate is still averaging 600,000 a day and has been over 300,000 cases since July of 2020, and the death rate is still averaging 10,000 a day. This has been going on since early 2020. So the virus is pretty much there around. Some of Delta. A lot of Omicron. And there might be others in the pipeline with even more high rates of spread before it might start slowing down.
So, the practices continue. Limit exposure. Don’t do unnecessary trips or travel anywhere. Wash hands. Wear masks. Keep away from crowds. But yet, one of us might get it leading to all of us getting it. And then and only then one would know what their individual efficacy is and what one is destined for. Therefore soldiering on into 2022…
Articles to read:
My family caught COVID-19. Here's what I wish I'd known — https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-covid-first-person-meaghan-blachard-1.6296894
'This is a transition point': Dr. Morrison on COVID-19 as 2022 looms — https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-heather-morrison-covid-2021-wrap-1.6297133
Our whole family got breakthrough COVID at Thanksgiving. This is what we learned — https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/12/24/1066828725/our-whole-family-got-breakthrough-covid-at-thanksgiving-this-is-what-we-learned