Going to the grocery store — or most anyplace else for that matter — is dangerous. It would not have to be, but it is. We’re all so consumed by wanting to be normal and not having to wear protection across our snoots, that we expose others to whatever asymptomatic variant of COVID-19 we might be carrying. And, of course, others return the favor by exposing us to whatever they’re carrying.
The thought is that the pandemic is over. Done. Gone. We no longer hear about it. It’s no longer top of mind. Well, the reality is different. COVID is not gone.
In fact, the one millionth soul in the United States died directly from COVID in May. This makes more than 1 million deaths out of the 100 million Americans who are known to have contracted COVID. This excludes all of those not counted.
Now, before you start quoting these numbers, you should know that just a short time later, by the first of January, there were another 92,800 American deaths due to COVID, bringing the total even higher. In that short time between November and the new year, more than 3 million new cases of the disease were reported.
So how bad is central Pennsylvania today? Who knows? During May 2022, Pennsylvania shifted to once weekly reporting, and even that is sporadic and uneven across the commonwealth. There has been tremendous popular pressure (including from the White House and Congress) to report less, down-play the risk, get back to normal, and hide our heads in the sand. If we don’t know people are getting sick, suffering with long-term COVID and dying, then there must not be a problem. Besides, we need to work, and businesses need to thrive.
But there is a problem. President Joe Biden might have declared the coronavirus pandemic over, but that does not make it so.
Today, COVID plagues the elderly. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, hundreds of people — many over 65 years old — are dying each day in the U.S. from COVID. While that’s better than the earlier numbers, when thousands were dying each day, it remains three times the rate of mortality from the flu. It also excludes those not now being reported, and those not dying but suffering from long-term COVID.
It is turning out that nine in 10 COVID deaths are in people 65 and older. It is those who are sick and poor among the elderly who are dying at higher rates. The question then becomes are we as Americans comfortable in shifting the results of our returning to normalcy to those older and less fortunate?
There are new and powerful tools easily available to limit the number of people getting sick, staying sick and dying. These obviously include vaccines, booster shots, rapid tests, and antiviral pills that reduce covid repercussions when taken early.
Welcome:First babies of 2023 born at Meritus, WellSpan Chambersburg hospitals
You can also wear a mask.
But, if you are vaccinated, why bother? Aren’t you protected? The answer is … sort of, maybe, but not a certainty.
COVID vaccinations are like going pheasant hunting
Statistically speaking, compared with people who are not vaccinated, you are about 43% less likely to exhibit severe symptoms if you are vaccinated and still contract a COVID infection. Boosters also act to improve your protection against serious illness and death. Updating your boosters helps restore protection that decreased since your previous vaccination and provides some protection against variants.
Protecting yourself from COVID is like going pheasant hunting. I load my car with my shotgun, ammo, cleaning knife, a plastic bag for the meat, and my dog. I also take a bright orange vest to carry my shotgun shells and the pheasants I harvest. The reason the vest is bright orange is so I am not mistaken for a pheasant.
This is not as strange as it seems, because walking through a standing sorghum field or high brush, it is possible to be misidentified in the split second another hunter pulls up his shotgun and shoots before realizing a mistake.
The bright orange vest does not eliminate the possibility of being shot, but it certainly reduces the risk. Just like COVID vaccines and boosters, they do not eliminate the possibility of contracting the disease, but they do reduce the risk.
It remains up to the hunter to take additional precautions to protect him or herself from being shot or hurting others. With COVID, that is called wearing a mask.
And here is an example of why you want every bit of protection you can muster. A medical study summarized in NeuroscienceNews.com indicates that brain changes in areas of language comprehension and cognition can be problematic in patients who suffer a COVID infection.
CDC studies also indicate that one in five adults will develop long-term COVID with symptoms of difficulty thinking, headaches, sleep problems, lightheadedness, pins-and-needles sensations, changes in smell or taste, depression and anxiety.
The best advice is rather simple. Get vaccinated. Get boosted. Wear a mask. Stay socially distanced as much as possible. And if you are field hunting, wear a bright orange vest.
Bill Gindlesperger is a central Pennsylvanian, Dickinson College graduate, Pennsylvania System Of Higher Education (PASSHE) Governor, Shippensburg University Trustee, and Chairman of eLynxx Solutions. eLynxx software coordinates and drives communication, specifying, approval, procurement or production, reporting and activities necessary to obtaining direct mail, marketing materials, promo and all other printing. He is a board member, campaign advisor, successful entrepreneur, published author and commentator. He can be reached at[email protected].
