Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Virus Variants by Diane Burton

 


Right off the bat, I'm stating that I am not a scientist. But, holy cow! Are we being inundated by science. Actually, for nearly two years, we've been educated about how viruses work, and what they can do to us. My head is stuffed with too much information. I sure wish I didn't know all this stuff. Just call me an ostrich. 

I know the media and those in the business of public health are trying their best to keep us informed. They exhort us to get vaccinated, to wear masks, to maintain social distances. Still. Covid (and/or its variants) are on the rise again here in our "neck of the woods", as Al Roker says. Our local hospital is overflowing with covid patients, most of whom were not vaccinated. (I know there are vaccinated people who've gotten covid, too.) Federal health workers are heading to the Grand Rapids area to support local health workers. It's that bad.

Worst of all, we're heading into the season where we're around people, a lot. We just finished a grateful Thanksgiving with family. All of us are vaccinated and most have the booster, so we felt pretty confident that we'd be okay afterward. 


With our hospital diverting ambulances to other emergency rooms, what happens to those who have heart attacks, strokes, accidents?

I sound like doom and gloom. Well, these are scary times. Again.

When will it end? Just when scientists think they have a handle on covid, a variant pops up--delta, omicron, what next. 


Hubs and I got our covid booster shots. We also got flu shots in September. Hopefully, both will protect us through this winter season. Unfortunately, it looks like we'll be staying in a lot. And when we go out, we're masking up.


What are you doing to protect yourself and your family?


On a less serious note, wishing a Happy Hanukkah to all our readers celebrating.



9 comments:

Nancy Gideon said...

I feel your frustration! We're all vaxxed and tend to go only where we (the fam - I tend to stay home!)can socially distance. I'd love to go back to the gym but it's too hard with the mask so I've been getting steps in at home. Safety for your family and for others has to be the primary goal. I remember standing in line as a child to get vaccinated (probably for polio). Everyone did. Yeah, this is just like that! It's a global necessity. We traveled to Ireland this fall and had to have a COVID test done and provide evidence of it before getting on the plane. We stayed masked on the plane. Annoying, yes, but not as much as an ambulance ride would be.

Diane Burton said...

Masks are annoying. But, as you say, not as bad as an ambulance ride or a ventilator. I can't believe it's going on this long.

Maureen said...

Stay safe and healthy!

Mary Morgan said...

Last year was awful for our family and so many of my friends. Then it slipped into this year. We can only do so much to protect ourselves against this monster of a virus. Got my booster on Monday and it kicked me in the rear. Yet I'll take feeling poorly for 24 hours than getting sick.

My word going into the New Year is "Hope."

Jessica E. Subject said...

Our numbers are rising again here, too. It's really such a shame.

I took biology, so I already knew a lot about how viruses and vaccines work, but the coronavirus with the protein on it was new information for me. Of course, I did do my research on how the virus and the new vaccine worked compared to the ones I already knew about.

In my household and at my workplace, we're all vaccinated, but we did have to put restrictions on who we spend the holidays with. I can't get my booster until the beginning of 2022, but I did recently get my flu and tetanus shots. I think the key is getting vaccines around the world so we can reduce the spread and stop the virus from mutating.

Anyway, I wish you health and happiness over the holiday season and into the new year!

Jessica E. Subject said...

Oh, and masks. We haven't stopped wearing them since the beginning of the pandemic. We wore them before the pandemic, too, so they were never a big deal to us.

Diane Burton said...

Thanks, Maureen.

Diane Burton said...

Mary, I'm so sorry about how covid has affected you & your family. Monster virus is a good description. When I got my booster (as I did for each of the shots), I sucked down water constantly. Of course, you know where I spent a lot of time. LOL But it seemed to help since I had no side effects from the shots. My sisters were really sick, too, for about 24 hours. Better than being on a ventilator. Take care this winter.

Diane Burton said...

Jess, I heard the numbers were rising in Canada, too. And I think you all have had better restrictions, etc. than we've had. Getting the vax around the world will help. But some people still don't believe this is real. So they ignore the warnings. I can't imagine this but . . . Good that you got your flu and tetanus. We have to protect ourselves and those around us. Good on the masks.