GRAB YOUR JAB
Friday, March 12, 2021 – daily column #6694
Not our first rodeo.
But, our first pandemic.
Pundits, and many experts, warn it’s a pre-cursor, time for lessons to be learned, to be better prepared for the next pandemic.
What?
We’re still in the middle of this one!
I searched data for 1918.
That pandemic killed 50 million.
The population was 1.8 billion.
To date, 2.5 million people are dead from COVID-19.
By 1918 standards, we appear to be relatively unscathed, but nobody feels fantastic yet.
Scientists warn population growth and how we live will cause more pandemics. Easy to blame bats, China, or some other villain-du-jour – but it seems too many humans are the cause.
I’m not sure I follow that correlation, and the 1918 comparison is not relevant today for two reasons: because 50.0 million deaths is a number widely disputed as underestimated (China never disclosed their statistics) and because medical science today is superior.
With our science and know-how, we’ll continue to get better at this rather than worse. Not to say bats and wet markets won’t continue to scare people; the biggest enemy we have to face is widespread ignorance coupled with apathy/numbly trusting.
We’re told by scientists and pharmaceutical companies that readiness and capability to accelerate the process of vaccine production are critical because how we are living on this planet will produce more frequent pandemics and new ‘novel’ viruses.
That should scare us, but right now, we are paddling hard to get out of these turbulent waters …
Whether we will be ready is no simple issue because whether governments will learn anything, remember it, and be poised to act are the better/more challenging questions? I think the best time to plan for the next disaster is while we’re exiting the current one because our memories and the importance of being ready for the next disaster will fade as soon as the next election campaign … because that’s when really tricky problems are too easily swept under the rhetorical rugs.
Excellent science, data science, and logistics saved the day – notwithstanding so much political mismanagement worldwide; we are returning to normal soon. With multiple vaccines, there is much hope for a combination of vaccinations and herd immunity to stop COVID spread.
Not yet, but it’s comforting in our country to see light at the end of the tunnel. Help is on the way, it really is, and it’s only been a year. But it’s been a very long year indeed.
Still, we want something to hold onto, to give us confidence and comfort – much like Linus looking for his security blanket …
When something dramatic happens (conflicts, change, threats, turmoil, etc.), we are more mindful than during in-between-times, peace times, calm water times, and mild climes – because then we are not being shocked, stunned, or gobsmacked at every turn.
This pandemic has become like that because we were first stunned, then numbed, then incrementally soothed and educated. While political leaders in every jurisdiction march to their own drummer and are often dumber than dirt, and the media-brand of hype we tune into has also taken a surreal turn – we’ve become numb to it, and to some degree, we’ve become a population on autopilot, our masks and distancing, our precautions are no-brainers now – we are just waiting for it to be over …
We realize everyone is either thriving, coping, or being left behind. As long as we don’t feel part of that last being left behind group, we carry on …
But winter is coming to an end, we’re one-year on with this pandemic, and something new is happening – re-openings, here and there, vaccinations, further education about variants and the most heartening news of all, which tells us of fewer seriously ill, fewer hospitalized, and fewer deaths. This makes us feel more relaxed.
So what happens next?
Government announcements tell me now, for my demographic, I can book an appointment for my shot on the 17th when I can take that next step in this process of getting vaccinated. It’s so much better than having an opinion about vaccinations or about the vaccination process – I’ll have an appointment for my jab in the arm.
We will be better soon.
Well, maybe not, but we’ll feel better about getting better.
We’ll feel closer to the turning point when officials will give us the collective all-clear.
Reader feedback:
Your Openness that you regularly post about yourself or about others not only spurs your audience into action, but it spurs you too. Don't change what you do. Your musings are meant to add Value in one way or another, and I am sure I speak for many, "They Truly Do." Keep up the great work Mark! MJ, Calgary
Free advice is worth what it costs, especially when it is unsolicited. We are barraged with advice all day long; in the media, product advertising, COVID guidelines... So often we are prepared to accept advice from strangers, rather than people we know. Advice from people we don’t like is often disregarded despite the fact it is right on point. My career was based on telling people what they needed to know, not what they wanted to hear. Whether they took my advice or not determined the future of the relationship. That said, my professional advice did not come free. I’m not sure what else I can tell you. Maybe keep an open mind and your bullshit filters in place, DM, Calgary, AB
|