Black Tortoise Press Things

Love in the time of Covid

coronavirus Photo by CDC on Pexels.com

Since January 2020, I’ve posted over 20 times about Covid-19. The first time was Keep Calm and Don’t Eat the Bats. That was before we had a case in the country. If we follow our prior pattern, we’re about to have another surge. There are signs of it happening already.

My opinion evolved as the case numbers grew and the disease traveled across continents.

Back in May of 2020, the Governor of my state set out with a phased plan that followed CDC guidelines. I posted the plan on my refrigerator. I noted the dates as we passed milestones.

We met goals and then we slid backwards.

See how yellowed the paper got?

Back then Dr. Fauci said it could be two years before we got out of the Pandemic. Now it seems like part of life.

So where are we now?

  • Testing is widely available at little or no cost to everyone;
  • Contact tracing is possible;
  • We have effective vaccines available to everyone more than 5 years old;
  • We have effective treatments.

We should be firmly in Phase 5: Restored.

Why aren’t we in a better place?

  • Contact tracing is voluntary and many don’t report;
  • People flaunt the mask mandate;
  • People refuse vaccination.

So we have outbreaks of Covid-19 where hospitals become overwhelmed, people die, and some have long term effects. I read today that over a million people in this country have no sense of smell due to Covid-19 infections. Although that’s not life-threatening, it sure is a quality of life issue.

I have hope that vaccine mandates by businesses, municipalities, schools, and OSHA will begin to move the vaccination needle. We canceled our Christmas outing with the grandkids last year. This year, we’re back on course, with a vaccine mandate from the theatre. New Years Eve in Time Square is back, with vaccine or testing requirements for all who come. Disney Cruises requires vaccination (or testing) for anyone over 5 years old. Maybe these kinds of requirements will encourage people to get vaccinated. Maybe when not getting vaccinated causes personal limitations, people will get vaccinated. I hope so.

Still, I admit, it’s not a very high hope. I mean, even Pope Francis is ineffective at getting his flock to get vaccinated. (Former Pope Benedict showed his solidarity by getting vaccinated, too.)

There’s no better reason to get vaccinated than LOVE.

Here’s a few more of my posts over the past two years about Covid-19. Just in case you’re interested in how my opinion has evolved.

There’s more, but that should get you started. Feel free to use the search bar, if you want to read everything. Good Lord, that’s a lot of reading!