The last thing most of us want to see is any more news about Covid-19. Seriously, enough is enough! Frankly, it is difficult to disagree. We have all reached a level of burnout from coping with the pandemic and the disruptions that have accompanied it and many of us feel like we just can’t maintain the vigilance and concern needed to live our lives in a constantly defensive posture. In short, we all need a breather.
The other side of this issue, of course, is that nature is mostly beyond our control and does not always cooperate with our wants or needs. A study of the history of epidemiology shows us that often just when we think that we have passed the worst and stand ready to declare an “all clear,” a new wave is lying in wait and infections rise again. The 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, which is often used as the example against which we compare and contrast the global scale of Covid-19, occurred in three separate waves. The first wave was over quickly and the world (which was still dealing with the final year of World War I) was ready to consider the issue over, but just as the illness seemed to have burned itself out, the second, and deadliest wave hit. The pattern repeated itself, and by the time the third wave hit, over 50 million people world-wide had died from the virus.
While 1918 stands as an example that we can learn from, it is important to note that no two pandemics are identical, and each presents its own set of challenges and opportunities. Covid-19 has been indescribably devastating and has pushed our society, government and medical establishment to their limits. Fortunately, medical science and education has advanced light-years ahead of where we were 100-plus years ago. The ongoing research into the causes, effects, and trajectory of the spread of the disease has given health care professionals tools for both treatment and prevention that would have been undreamed of even in the recent past. We now realize that early testing and treatment saves lives! However, caution is still necessary. Britain had an increase of cases of 48% and in hospitalizations of 17% when they ended mitigation measures. Large areas in China are locked down again. There are new variants emerging. The ebb and flow of infection is infuriating and beyond frustrating, but it is reality.
The medical breakthroughs and education should give us comfort, but we are not quite there yet. It’s been a marathon, not a sprint, but every runner knows that you run hardest when the finish line is in sight, you don’t stop until after you’ve crossed it. The light is there at the end of the tunnel, but we need to hold on until we get there… together. Every step we take to protect ourselves and get healthier is a step towards that light. Every day that science progresses is a day closer to the end of a pandemic that has punctured all of our lives. Humans have lived through the best and the worst times and persevered. It may feel impossible to consider a day when we don’t think about Covid anymore, but it will come.
Taylor is the founder of Covid Treatment Clinics