UNITED STATES—We all thought it was over, but it seems the pandemic and COVID-19 is far from over America. It seemed the tide started to turn in March/April 2021 as the vaccines started rolling out to millions of Americans, people were getting the vaccine for COVID-19 with the news that it would protect them from catching the deadly virus that has killed over 500,000 people.
That is not the case America because the current Coronavirus numbers that are being reported are on the climb and news about the Delta variant, which based on science is more contagious and deadly than other variants is starting to spread. Now so many people were told that if you got the vaccine you don’t have to wear a mask, you can gather indoors with others, dine out and be comfortable, go to concerts, return to all the things that were placed on the backburner for the last 18 months.
There is a problem: that does not seem to be the case. Mask mandates are back in effect in many states throughout the United States, you have to wear masks indoors, there are some who are wearing a mask, while others are NOT wearing a mask. There is infighting, over should you wear a mask, can you mandate that people get vaccinated, who can gather and who cannot gather. The confusion is just spinning more and more for Americans.
We are told to listen to the science, but the science at times feels unclear. What is it that we can do, what should we do, how contagious is the virus, are children immune, can children spread the virus to adult and others? What about those who are vaccinated can they easily spread it to those who are unvaccinated? The conflicting arguments that say one thing this week and then the following week we learn something else is not just frustrating, but creates this aura of bad energy.
What should we be doing to control the virus? What can we do to ensure we keep ourselves and family’s safe in the process as the fight against this global pandemic continues to prove just because things seem like they are over, they are far from being over. You cannot tell me it is not jarring to go from NOT seeing people where masks, to see people wearing masks, to see people without masks to see people go back to wearing masks yet again. It feels like we are trapped in this loophole where things are constantly shifting from one week to the next.
I’ll be honest as a parent my children are not heading back to the classroom without a mask. I hear kids don’t transmit COVID-19, but they are suddenly getting sick. So the science says this, but it seems to be pointed in the direction of taking every single precaution you can take no matter what you hear or what is being reported. The price of goods are on the rise, people are starting to cut back on spending habits out of fear of not knowing what will happen next.
Businesses cannot find employees to properly staff to provide operations, leading to closures for periods of time placing people on unemployment benefits yet again. Government offices are returning back to virtual business in an effort to prevent a rise in potential COVID-19 cases and that shutdown of doing business in-person is ONLY creating more delays people.
We’re going backwards again, when we should be moving forward, we’re nearing almost 2 years at this point and it feels like no end in sight, which is beyond frustrating at this point. Then we have the vaccination debate. You cannot force people to get vaccinated, no matter how hard you attempt to shove the message down the unvaccinated throats. It’s a political battle which is beyond annoying. Politics should have NOTHING to do with this pandemic, but the fact of the matter is politics reared its ugly head at the height of this pandemic and its still causing politics to play a role in matters.
Written By Jason Jones