When we look around at people in the streets, and diners in restaurants it’s almost as if COVID is over. Sure, people are still catching the virus, but the symptoms are milder and they mostly only have to shelter for a short while. Many of our leaders say it is time to open for business. On July 18, 2022 the Indiana Gazette asked ‘is it time to stop worrying about COVID-19’.
Has the Time Arrived to Stop Fretting Over COVID?
The Indiana Gazette says no, it is not time to stop worrying about COVID-19 yet. They cite infectious disease experts believing new variants, lack of predictability, and lingering side effects still merit extra caution. And this despite vaccines, and pre- and post-exposure treatments.
“My little catchphrase is you may be done with the pandemic, but the pandemic is not done with you,” Michael Teng told their reporter. He is an associate professor virologist at the Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida.
There are a couple of reasons for these opinions. In the first instance, home testing deprived us of the ability to accurately track highly infectious Omicron variant BA.5. Michael Teng told the reporter “I think a wave is already here. We’re just not capturing it with regular testing.”
Our Immunity Shields Are Down Too
Covid-19 is not done with us, by far. The BA.5 variant has the ability to get past our natural, and vaccinated immunity. Although the vaccines are still able to reduce the chance of severe symptoms, according to CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
Available evidence suggest our hospitals should be able to cope with the next surge. However, Long COVID lurks in the shadows and could hamstring our careers for months, even years. The probability of this happening increases with the infection rate.
The question to ask ourselves is, do I want to take that chance? We should look inward at ourselves, not outward at others. We should minimize our chances of getting the virus until we know better, which may take us a while longer.
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