Wednesday, May 24, 2023

It's over?

As I understand it, both the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization have declared we are no longer in a state of emergency due to COVID-19. 

I am not fact-checking this, and I know I am paraphrasing, so anyone is free to correct me. But that's my understanding. 

I am not totally sure what this means, but I think it has something to do with free vaccines, free testing kits, etc. 

I went to get the most recent and updated booster about a month ago. I am pro-vaccine and figure, at my age, I'll follow my doc's recommendation and get what I can. 

I realize there are those who disagree with me. Reasonable minds differ, as I learned in law school. 

COVID has not gone away, but we know much more about it now, and I suppose the two aforementioned organizations believe we have enough resources to deal with it now, not as a pandemic, but as another virus that's out there like so many others. 

I read an interesting piece in The New York Times on Dr. Anthony Fauci recently. He became the face and voice of the pandemic. Early on, then-President Trump seemed to rely on his expertise.

He is finally retiring after serving under seven presidents as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.  Although many of us came to know of him because of COVID, he was obviously around a long time before that. I am, unapologetically, a big fan. 

He said in the Times article that he acknowledges some mistakes and missteps in the height of the COVID pandemic, but pointed out how, in the beginning, how very little we knew about it. He is human like anyone else. Medicine is not an exact science, even as much as we would like it to be. 

COVID became a political issue, fueled by Donald Trump. He was all in until he wasn't and, typically, he turned on Dr. Fauci. 

The lockdowns, closings and masks are history now. Even with the politics, I hope we learned something from it. 







3 comments:

Kelly said...

My last vaccine was at the beginning of December. I figure I'm good to go until fall. I'll get another booster when I get my annual flu shot.

The Weaver of Grass said...

I have had all my 'top ups of Covid jabs and until the last one a fortnight ago today had no trouble at all. But a week after having the latest I have gone down with a nasty attack of Shingles. I have a friend who had the same trouble after her job. Are the two things connected - hard to say. Shall thinkg carefully before heving another booster - this Shingles is horrible and very draining.

Ed said...

I think you said everything very well Bob. We had our last shot in March, thanks to an ill timed bout of Covid in early winter. I'm hoping that it will be just another shot to get with the flu shot from here on out.