Avoid this paragraph if you don’t want anything depressing: the other day I listened to a podcast featuring an expert other than Dr. Osterholm (yes, I cheated on him). It was a Dr. Foege and here’s what kind of depressed me. He recently worked with the CDC to come up with four phases of prioritization for getting a hypothetical COVID vaccine. And basically, people like me and Xopher, who aren’t essential workers, don’t have pre-existing conditions, etc.? We’re last in line. Next, the hypothetical vaccine is not likely to be 100% effective, far from it. So even with vaccines, we all still have to wear masks, avoid crowds, and socially distance. So wait a minute. We’re all pining for the vaccine, and even once it gets here, and even once WE get it, it still won’t change a damn thing about our day to day life? What will? Apparently, we can all only get back to “normal” when the virus is effectively eliminated. Take a look at how many assholes live in this country, who are so uncooperative with mitigations strategies as to be openly hostile at times. Think long and hard about how long it’s going to take to effectively eliminate the virus under the conditions we’ve got.
Told you it would be depressing.
I’m not done yet. Time for my workday to begin.
Tytania 