Pandemic: Year 2

 

We in the US have just reached a depressing milestone: the 2nd anniversary of  the Covid-19 pandemic in our country. The virus first appeared in China in December of 2019 and quickly spread around the world, with the first confirmed cases showing up in mid January. It reached us here in New Mexico in March and we quickly joined the lockdown. At first it just seemed like it might last a few weeks, but now we are entering the third year of masks and social distancing. Last year around this time the vaccine was introduced and people started to feel hopeful that the pandemic might come to an end. But here we are in the 4th wave with the Omicron variant. In some ways it is very discouraging, because this variant is more contagious and causes breakthrough infections. On the other hand, for the vaccinated at least, it's not as bad as it would have been and most breakthrough infections have cold-like symptoms that are often fairly mild. Still, many unvaccinated people are dying every day and hospitals are under tremendous strain. The worst part is that hospitals can't take care of other sick people, because ICUs are filled with people refusing the vaccine. Still, we are feeling somewhat positive that soon the virus will become endemic, like cold and flu season. But for now we are grateful to see our friends on Zoom and keep each other as safe as possible.