The Unselfishness of One to Benefit the Many
In the end it will be impossible to know if we overreacted and did too much but it will be quite apparent if we underreacted and did too little.
Good enough never is
The year 2021 is here. We have a boatload of hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes. I really know what it means now to stay home. I have learned a lot, and yet not a lot, with more yet to learn … about COVID 19. Vaccines are rolling out. Too many people are still not following containment guidelines. I need my family and friends. Lynn and I live in a privileged bubble. I’ve become more aware of who has been profoundly affected by this pandemic and why. And I am now paying far more attention to “what’s going on out there.” I rely more on the Lord rather than my desire to control or fix things, particularly regarding what isn’t understood. It’s not all about me anymore.
And so . . .
The January 6 Debacle
Lawmakers were likely exposed to the coronavirus last week as they sought safety together in a room when a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, the attending physician to Congress said. Video showed several Republicans refusing masks offered by a colleague in the hideout room Wednesday. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), a 75-year-old cancer survivor, has tested positive after sheltering in the room.
Healthcare Providers Struggle
Below is a testimonial from a healthcare provider on the Coronavirus: Fact VS Fiction Podcast:
“We gain sustenance by giving people hope. I feel for those in healthcare. They are in this business every day while struggling with their own personal stories of how Covid has affected them and their loved ones.
“Regarding the whole mask debate, people getting aggressive when told to wear a mask, etc.: that is the crux of my job. I sit with the scope of people. You have to be able to empathize with them. You have to understand that no matter what feelings are valid, The opinion part of it is probably the part that we’re getting stuck on. The feeling part is always valid. Because people’s feelings were preyed upon with false opinion, we are getting this very explosive attitude. So I empathize with the fact that if you lost your job because of the pandemic, and you are not able to eat, you’re struggling to take care of your family, you are depressed, you are angry, and you are looking for an answer, you turn to something to support your answer. Why would you look for invalidation of what you’re feeling? You’re going to look for validation of it. The validation is going to be the news sources, the social media, to validate that you’re correct in your feelings.
“What matters to me other than external feelings of appreciation is actual change. There was a period of time last fall when people would clap and cheer at us. I actually don’t like the whole hero worship thing. Because when someone calls somebody a hero, they don’t consider your feelings and what you could be going through, you’re supposed to fix everything and make it better, and make it go away and be this person that saves the day.
“And at the time, when people were doing all of that acknowledging, we didn’t have the solutions, we weren’t being the hero, we were just having a lot of people come in pretty sick, and if they got better, they got better, and if they died, they died. And so I think a lot of caregivers didn’t feel good, they didn’t feel like heroes, and they had a lot of feelings and weren’t allowed to show them. That’s what I thought at the time. There was a benefit when people showed that they cared about you. Now, not only do many people not care when providers are doing this job to take care of them, they actually resent them. So if we’re not angry, crying, and exhausted, we are numb. And that’s worse.“
People are retiring early and leaving the medical profession. Are you?
“No, This is such a beautiful privilege to be able to take care of people during their need, whether they want me to or not. To me, doing this work is part of who I am. I can’t imagine leaving it.
“At the same time, I can’t imagine not fighting to make it better.“
Read this additional testimonial written by a doctor, Samuel Ceridon, at Marshall hospital, Placerville, CA. I verified his credentials!😔😔🙏🙏
Testing Update
In one of my previous posts, I had mentioned that testing kits using saliva were being developed that would eliminate the lab processing and subsequent time lag for results. They still aren’t available. On January 19, I listened to an interesting piece on the Coronavirus: Fact VS Fiction Podcast (Dr. Sanjay Gupta). He interviewed Harvard epidemiologist Dr. Michael Mina about affordable at-home rapid testing. Below are a few notes from that podcast:
What if tests costing only a few bucks could be taken at home in as little as 5 minutes? They would work like a pregnancy test. This sounds simple. But …. the rub is getting them approved by the FDA.
The average person wants to know if they are contagious, whether or not there are symptoms. The FDA, unfortunately, only has a single lens to consider approval for a COVID test. The current legal and regulatory framework is to think of a test in the US not as a public health tool, but only as a medical diagnostic tool.
The nose-swab PCR is simply an illusion of public health. Unless you are testing frequently, there is too much of a chance you have infected people during the time after exposure (asymptomatic or prior to symptoms). Testing is slow, not accessible for many, and just not very effective. The delay is the damaging issue. The incidence of false positives and false negatives don’t help either.
During a pandemic, if everyone could test twice a week, people would know their status, and if positive they could make the appropriate lifestyle changes. Someone would know if they were contagious. I’m learning that President Biden is wanting to provide additional funding for testing development, including these rapid home tests. I hope it happens … this would help!
Cases Exploding
As of January 19, over 400k deaths nationwide have been attributed to COVID 19. The forecast is for us to eventually creep up to 500K in the coming months, if we don’t get a handle on flattening the curve. Compared to the rest of the world, we have failed miserably … which seems inexcusable, given our wealth and resources.
Little or No Traveling in the Near Future
We canceled our trip to France that was scheduled for October of this year. However, we happily booked a tour in the Canadian Rockies for the summer of 2022. Hopefully by then, it’s safe!!!
Coping. Now and in the Future.
It could be that kids come out of the pandemic with better coping skills because they learn how to be resilient through their experience with COVID. When we raised our kids, there were no life circumstances that taught children this. A few generations of instant gratification, and “I need it NOW” “Oh my gosh I can’t do this!” ” I’ll just give up” Helicopter parenting, playing the victim.
And then there are other kids … the thinking right now is that there will be many kids 6-9 months behind in their schooling. Others will suffer because school was a retreat from a troublesome home life. And still others will be adversely affected by the isolation.
A close relative, who has serious health issues, contracted COVID 19. He was very sick. We thought he was a goner. But no, he recovered, thanks to the Lord … not his time yet. But the mysteries continue as to why some people survive or have lasting effects, and others do not .. in spite of some general conclusions having to do with the elderly and pre-existing conditions being at a much higher risk. So the same uncertain struggle continues.
I read this somewhere and remember it … Compartmentalize your life. Set aside the things that you need to to live the life you’re supposed to.
At least 14 passengers were placed on Alaska Airlines’ no-fly list for refusing to wear a mask, being rowdy and argumentative and continuing to harass crew members on a flight on Thursday night from Dulles International Airport to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, an airline spokesperson said. (They appeared to have attended the protesting in Washington DC)
Vaccine Dispersal
As of January 19, vaccine is available to us. It is rolling out to centers, involving the national guard, etc. Governor Inslee’s post on Facebook. Friends in California are already getting it. Lynn and I certified ourselves through the Washington Department of Health website, and our health provider has been notified. We are waiting to be contacted.
My nephew, who has serious health issues, contracted COVID. He was very sick. We thought he was a goner. But no, he recovered, thanks to the Lord … not his time yet. But the mysteries continue as to why some people survive or have lasting effects, and others do not. Others get it due to attending events and gatherings. Exposures here mean that we have tightened our stay at home choices for the time being.
There are Corrections Every Day. Patience is a Virtue.
A New Administration is Sworn In
We are in a national emergency. We need to act like we are in a national emergency.
President Biden – January 22, 2021
In the new President’s words: The total deaths from COVID 19 are more than all the people that died in World War II. This is a wartime undertaking. Wear masks for 100 days. No flights coming in unless tests and then quarantine after arrival. Provide schools with clear guidance and resources to safely reopen. Advance testing. More stringent worker safety standards. Protect those most at risk. Health equity task force. Address misinformation campaigns and vaccine hesitancy. Hearing from Dr. Fauci, not from the president. The ones that know. Free from political influence. They make decisions based on science and health care alone. We will level with you. Even if we make a mistake. We will explain setbacks. We are still in a dark winner of the pandemic and it will get worse before better. It will take many months to get where we need to be. We can do this if we come together. We all act as one nation. Common purpose with urgency and resolve. United States rejoined WHO. Failure to do these steps will cost much more than not doing it. We are in a national emergency and we need to work together. It is time to ask more of all of us. (President Biden signed the executive orders starting at 12:06 pm on January 21).
A Review of the Year
Those that fail to recall history are doomed to repeat it.
Winston Churchill
We were slow to test, slow to trace. Slow to quarantine. We made remarkable progress on vaccine research and treatments, but we also protested against the basics, such as wearing masks. The truth is, we wanted science to rescue us. But science cannot save us from our own human nature. We had an inability to deal with what we cannot see, to plan ahead, and accept sacrifices for the sake of the common good. The vaccine is wonderful, but it will not and never will be our savior. We will always be marked by the tragedy that we have allowed to happen. Hundreds of thousands of people have died, and a large number of these could’ve been prevented. We will get through this, but hopefully we will learn and we will remember. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. The price that we paid during this pandemic is just too great to let it ever happen again. (Coronavirus Fact VS Fiction: January 21, 2021)
Restoring Trust
Devisiveness regarding the truth about COVID 19 added to public confusion and mistrust. Facts that were clear were questioned; people were questioning what was being said. President Biden viewed this as the biggest problem facing him regarding the pandemic.
Trust in America’s leading medical and health institutions has been eroding over the last several months. Only about 1 in 3 Americans had faith in the Center for Disease Control (CDC), as well as the Food and Drug Administration. These agencies’ reputations needed to be rebuilt, along with conquering COVID 19.
CDC along with state and local health agencies served as punching bags for political leaders, who didn’t want to tell the public what they needed to do to get the virus under control. Was this deserved? They did make mistakes.
But if they would have had the opportunity to be in front of the public, they could have explained these “bumps in the road” as they occurred. An example was the mask issue. They could have told the public “we have learned that masks can help ….” and people may not have amplified a dated mask message, accusing them of lying. People would understand that they were learning on the fly, and that the agencies were sharing what they were learning. Instead, political leaders (particularly from the White House) would accuse them of flip-flopping and trust was eroded. No stand was ever taken when disinformation was disseminated that “changed the line of science.” So what were people supposed to believe?
I’ve already noticed a change in how the information is being disseminated. President Biden has misspoken in some of his press conferences. However, his COVID 19 Response Team, with the support and approval of the President, is able to push back, clarify, or explain some of these missteps in an honest and professional way. Hopefully this new honesty and transparency will help with trust. The CDC is nonpartisan. The CDC personnel are committed to public health. The new CDC Director is the lead voice. She seems to be a humble person that relies on the expertise of her team. Communicate, listen, show humanity, and humility. I’m so glad that the bad optics are gone now.
There are a lot of unknowns right now. So, making forecasting statements are always subject to change or interruption. Only by having the public’s trust will these public health agencies be able to explain any changes. I sure hope it continues to be better!
Many predict that resistance to public health guidelines and regulations will be part of discussions in the United States for years to come. The damage will take time to repair.
When? Where? What? How?
Vaccine dispersal is at the forefront of the news these days …
Other Than the Vaccine, What is Next?
Welllll … that is up to the people. Rinse and Repeat.
Even after the second dose of the vaccine takes effect (estimated at 2-3 weeks post-vaccine) it will still be necessary to follow the guidelines, such as masking, social distancing, hand-washing, etc. This is because the vaccinated person could still be exposed, and contain traces of the virus that could be spread to unvaccinated individuals.
President Biden has announced a 100-day masking challenge. He is also mandating mask-wearing in all government and public buildings. Enforcement … that’s another matter. In the end, it all depends on compliance.
Anti-mask protestors are showing up in some areas (thankfully, not here in Lynden). It’s a problem in Fresno. Good grief. Since the beginning of this month, and the events of January 6, tribalism has become even more evident. Many people are unwilling to give up their liberty for virus containment. They have an “over there But not here” attitude.
Consider Singapore. They have successfully flattened (and sometimes halted) COVID 19 cases.
Anyone flying into Singapore has to test prior to their flight. And then … they are placed in severe lockdown with 2-week quarantines spent in hotels, including meals left in the hall, etc. Here, we mean lockdown.
And if you don’t do this? Failure penalties include: Loss of scholarships, loss of internet, banned from ever entering Singapore, deportation, work permits revoked, continual immigration officials checking on you. Singapore enacted this lockdown right away.
We didn’t do enough and we didn’t do it soon enough. But I’m not sure we ever could have done a Singapore sort of lockdown. We just have to do the best we can until herd immunity and we don’t know what the consequences will be from now until then.
To Wrap Up
Leaving January, the big issues were …. vaccine rollout issues; a new Biden administration and their strategy for dealing with COVID 19; and how we should be living over the coming months while we wait for herd immunity and/or COVID 19 containment.
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