I got a flu shot the other day. My doctor said he wouldn’t let me out of his office til I got it. So I got it. That does not mean I won’t get the flu. What is does mean that most likely that if I do get the flu, it will be a milder case that if I didn’t get the shot. We have known this since flu shots became pervasive. Also, some people are allergic to flu shots and get sick or die from them.
It appears that the shots for the Covid work pretty much the same. Our betters don’t want to fess up, but it seems that getting a Covid Shot, a second shot, and a booster is no guarantee that you won’t get Covid. However they do seem to mitigate the symptoms. And yes, some folks have a negative reaction to the shots. Nothing is perfect.
We are now going through the Omicron variant. It seems to be very contagious, but also seems to not be as virulent as its predecessors. Folks do get sick, but not as bad. This has proven out in South Africa, in the UK, and yes, here in the US. Is it possible that its not as virulent because most people have had a vaccination or have actually had Covid in one form or another?
Before I go on, rest assured that the above information is without any scientific backing and is what I get by simply looking out the window and applying a tad of common sense.
However we have spent the last nearly two years bombarded with much mis information and wildly different information, that we seem to live in a ‘sky is falling’ world. Everything is prefaced with OMG.
What are you afraid of? Getting sick? We all get sick at one time or another. Getting really really sick? Well, yes, I can see that might push upward on the fear meter. Dying? Yes, the fear meter just exploded.
Yet every day we put ourselves at risk driving a car, flying in an airplane, taking a shower, simply getting out of bed and living our lives. And we think nothing of it. However mention Covid and all rational thought goes out the window. We wear masks when alone in cars. We don’t take business or vacation trips for fear of contagion. We don’t have friends for dinner. We wear masks walking from that table to a restroom in a restaurant (but not at the table.) Actors on a stage wear masks but they are 100 feet from the audience, and everyone in it is wearing a mask.
There is no rational reason for any of the above, but fear is driving it. We need to do something. Like during the cold war when we were taught to hide under our desks at school in the event of a nuclear attack. What was that all about? Simple, fear, and the need to do something.
As for the headline above, we have learned to live with cold and flu. We don’t like it. But we now have ways to mitigate the problem, most of them over the counter at the drug store. Soon, we will have ways to deal with Covid. Already we are seeing treatments that are working on severe cases. More are on the way.
Never say never but we most likely won’t find a ‘cure’ for Covid like we did for smallpox, or polio. But we are finding ways to live with it. Can we not try to keep the hysteria and panic at a minimum? In the meantime, we need to live our lives.
JVH
