Americans like me have been letting our guard down since the pandemic was officially declared under control. We quit washing hands frequently, muffling our sneezes and coughs with our elbows, and masking in big crowds and indoors.
The result? Personally, my wife and I, are both fully vaccinated and boosted, but we caught COVID-19. It came like a thief in the night and before we knew it, we felt like we had the mother of all flu bugs. But then we tested ourselves and found the culprit.
She's had COVID for seven days and is still struggling. I'm on my third day and desperately trying to rally my strength after losing ten pounds (FYI it's not a recommended way to lose weight).
The kicker is my 94-year-old dad lives with us and has daily medical needs. He's not in the best of health (but is fully vaccinated and boosted). We also tested him, and he has COVID-19 too.
Worse yet... the Oregon Department of Health says he's too old to get the new anti-viral treatment. WTF? I guess you get written off at a certain age in our society!
Meeting our daily challenges while sick as dogs that got ahold of some bad meat has been difficult... to say the very least.
We can't have friends or family in the house for fear they'll get infected. I worry about my dad. In my fevered mind it's like being on a death watch.
Here's What's Happening Around the Country
There's been an uptick in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, according to NPR. Experts are scratching their bald heads (most are bald you know) and don't know if we should be worried about a winter surge in the country or not?
Here's a thought; if people get the new bivalent vaccine, it could keep the numbers down... the rest of the story is only 8 million Americans have gotten the new vaccine which leaves 200 million people at risk.
President Biden succumbed to politics when he declared the pandemic was over. It's just not true. Instead, he should have warned people to be vigilant, and go back to safe practices because there was a chance COVID could come back this winter.
I sincerely hope the Biden administration can look past the upcoming midterms and concentrate on things like having a secure supply chain of vaccine and ways to deliver it to the public when we need it the most.
As it stands, have you seen any warnings from the national health departments about the need to get vaccinated ASAP? That's what I thought. Neither have I.