Well into a month of semi-isolation and we are all antsy about getting back to our normal lives. No one wants to stay locked-down, and most of us need to get back to work. However, at this point (mid-April, 2020) the potential danger has not passed enough to allow for that yet. As best as I can understand this, we are waiting for the infection rate to go down and for a vaccine to be developed. But even that scenario brings as many questions as it does answers.
Once the rate of infection goes down and we assume it is safer to go back to work, isn't there every possibility that it will start to creep back up again? I understand that the countries who have been able to manage this have extensive testing and contact-tracing protocols in place, which we do not have in the US. At least not yet. So, while I understand we will need to go back to work to survive, we will obviously do so at a tremendous risk to our health.
Once a vaccine is developed, how safe will it be? And will everyone be required to have it?
These are important questions. There are viable reasons to be wary of vaccinations, especially ones that have not stood the test of time. There will be those who will be opposed to being injected with something that for all intents and purposes is experimental. There is no way to know the long-term risks of something just developed. To that end, will those who oppose being vaccinated be forced to have it anyway? That is a viable concern, both in terms of health and individual liberty.
Of course, I'm doing a better job of asking questions here than I am of answering them. I don't have those answers. At least not yet. In any case, these are crucial concerns for all of us and we will do well to take these things seriously, sooner rather than later.
The other thing we need to consider is the possibility that this may be an on-going situation. It is possible that we might not develop a good vaccine or build a solid herd immunity, and/or that another strain may be released into the world population. Corona virus may be a fact of life as we know it for some time. Obviously not ideal, but possible.
Please understand, I am not an alarmist and I certainly don't predict any of these nasty scenarios. But at the same time, we would be foolish not to consider that. There was a time in the span of human development when science wasn't a part of existence. Plenty of people died of diseases and common illnesses that we can easily control now. So, if we were to be confronted with a virus that we can't control and that could take out a serious portion of the population, that would not be unprecedented in human history. In fact, given a broad enough timeline it would typical.
So what can we do if that is the case? The only thing we can do is to be as intentionally healthy as possible. While I recommend that anyway, under situations like these it is life-critical. This is a good time for anyone who hasn't been living an intentionally healthy lifestyle to start. It can literally be a matter of life and death.
Once the rate of infection goes down and we assume it is safer to go back to work, isn't there every possibility that it will start to creep back up again? I understand that the countries who have been able to manage this have extensive testing and contact-tracing protocols in place, which we do not have in the US. At least not yet. So, while I understand we will need to go back to work to survive, we will obviously do so at a tremendous risk to our health.
Once a vaccine is developed, how safe will it be? And will everyone be required to have it?
These are important questions. There are viable reasons to be wary of vaccinations, especially ones that have not stood the test of time. There will be those who will be opposed to being injected with something that for all intents and purposes is experimental. There is no way to know the long-term risks of something just developed. To that end, will those who oppose being vaccinated be forced to have it anyway? That is a viable concern, both in terms of health and individual liberty.
Of course, I'm doing a better job of asking questions here than I am of answering them. I don't have those answers. At least not yet. In any case, these are crucial concerns for all of us and we will do well to take these things seriously, sooner rather than later.
The other thing we need to consider is the possibility that this may be an on-going situation. It is possible that we might not develop a good vaccine or build a solid herd immunity, and/or that another strain may be released into the world population. Corona virus may be a fact of life as we know it for some time. Obviously not ideal, but possible.
Please understand, I am not an alarmist and I certainly don't predict any of these nasty scenarios. But at the same time, we would be foolish not to consider that. There was a time in the span of human development when science wasn't a part of existence. Plenty of people died of diseases and common illnesses that we can easily control now. So, if we were to be confronted with a virus that we can't control and that could take out a serious portion of the population, that would not be unprecedented in human history. In fact, given a broad enough timeline it would typical.
So what can we do if that is the case? The only thing we can do is to be as intentionally healthy as possible. While I recommend that anyway, under situations like these it is life-critical. This is a good time for anyone who hasn't been living an intentionally healthy lifestyle to start. It can literally be a matter of life and death.
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