‘The COVID Carousel’
Omicron is tearing through my neck of the woods, yet I have no optimism left that it’ll change the public perception about trusting vaccine protection. Here’s M.G. Siegler from just a few days ago:
This variant is going to rip through our country and wreak havoc on those forty percent (and unfortunately, other immunocompromised people who those 40 percent refuse to protect, like true jackasses). Milder or not — data is promising, but the jury is still out for a host of reasons — this is going to be ugly. Time and mutations may be naturally blunting the virus, but the true stopgap, the vaccines, remain up for debate because our country is broken.
I’ve resigned to stop worrying about COVID. There will be variant after variant, and it seems nothing will break through to people who don’t take it seriously. So I’ve protected myself and my loved ones, and the rest, I guess, will get what they get. I do feel bad for people who cannot get vaccinated through no fault of their own. But I’m exhausted after two years of constant worry, and cannot put more energy into it.
Siegler seems optimistic than I am, hoping that harsh regulations will come down on the unvaccinated, while the vaccinated will be able to get on with their lives. But when many regulators are vaccine-opposed, it seems unlikely to me.
UPDATE: After posting this evening, I came across this from Greg Morris, which succinctly expresses more of my feelings about our current COVID situation:
The sacrifice was, of course, worth it. I suffered, and in many ways I still am. My family still bares the [scars] of staying in, some that won’t heal for a long time. Mentally exhausted from the effort to save others. None of these sacrifices are for us. Hardship in life rarely is, but to be a good person is to think of others. Help as many as you can and improve the lives of others when you can. Yet, in 2021 these values seem lost.
Lost to a world dedicated to the individual. Lives filled with selfishness and greed. Where they are all the main character and care very little for others around them. Instead of making this obvious sacrifice for the health and well-being of others, concentration is on themselves. We all did what we needed to do to get through this and are being held back by the few. We didn’t put ourselves through this for us, we did it for you.
You could at least help.