Viral Fears
I recently got the courage to take a COVID home test. (I was feeling tired, achy, and sleepy.)
Fortunately, the test result was negative. Phew! So much fear.
With the rise of BA.5 infections, our complacency—fueled by the availability of vaccines, the relaxing of precautions in retail stores and public venues, and the false notion that we had won the war against the COVID family of viruses—seems less realistic.
Some people—like two of my granddaughters—have opted to practice social distancing and wear masks in public regardless of what others are doing.
Recently, I asked my stretch therapist why he does not mask up when working on clients. He stated that he has had COVID twice with mild symptoms; hence, he doe not worry about close contact.
He added, “If a person eats healthy and exercises, they can overcome a bout with COVID.”
Hmmm? What about those who do not “eat healthy and exercise”?
COVID vaccines are effective in preventing severe, life-threating symptoms that require hospitalization, but they do not prevent getting COVID a first, second or third time.
Likewise, I recall the medical community’s concern about long-term COVID effects.
“COVID 19: Long-term effects,” published by the Mayo Clinic, states:
“Post-COVID-19 syndrome involves a variety of new, returning or ongoing symptoms that people experience more than four weeks after getting COVID-19. In some people, post-COVID-19 syndrome lasts months or years or causes disability.”
We aren’t out of the woods with COVID and its variants. Scientists warn that destroying ecosystems in pursuit of economic development and ignoring consequences of climate change can unleash other dangerous pathogens.
In 2007, Philip Hunter reported in EMBO Reports, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, “The prospect of a superbug that could wipe out much of the human race sounds like the stuff of science-fiction novels, Hollywood movies or doomsday prophets. However, such a global pandemic might not be as unlikely as it seems—some would even go so far as to say that it is a certainty, with the only uncertainties being what pathogen will cause it, when it will happen and how well the world will cope. Although vaccinations and antibiotics have eliminated some of mankind's greatest foes and lulled society into believing that great plagues are a thing of the past, plenty of pathogens remain that are able to evade all known therapies.”
According to the Associated Press, the Monkeypox virus, which is transmitted sexually, is gaining traction. “The spread of monkeypox in the U.S. could represent the dawn of a new sexually transmitted disease, though some health officials say the virus that causes pimple-like bumps might yet be contained before it gets firmly established.”
While such news might warrant our anxiety, succumbing to it is not the answer.
We face dangers to our well-being every day: accidents, sickness, environmental hazards, and nuclear threat.
The better course is thankfulness for each morning that we rise to enjoy another day.
Despite our viral fears, this is about all we can control.
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