The last two years of my professional life, as a scientific government contractor and now in the biotech industry, have been almost completely focused on SARS-CoV-2. The virus continues to baffle and surprise even expert virologists and epidemiologists. So far I've been able to personally avoid it, and know relatively few people (none in my family) who have tested positive. Many others are not so lucky, and I too know people who have had close
family and friends either fall gravely ill or pass away due to an infection, including some who were by all accounts and measures very healthy people beforehand. I am “lucky” enough to work remotely and have largely been avoiding social gathering outside of a pretty small group of people (mostly family) who are on the same page as my wife and I.

I don't enjoy living like this, and and am really looking forward to the day when things return to a sense of normal. I say "sense" because COVID will probably be a watershed moment similar to 9/11. Health screenings, mask wearing, lockdowns, supply chain problems... I believe most of these things will continue sporadically around the world and those of us with ~20+ years of life expectancy left should plan for something like this to happen again. Maybe next time it will be the flu, or SARS-CoV-2 will mutate, or possibly a completely unknown virus will jump from animals to people and then bang...

There is a lot of blame, and credit, to go around for our leaders who on the whole have done a very poor job either by policy or example. The US is rich enough, and supposedly smart enough, to have avoided the outcome we are now living. I would love to hear from Lewy about his experience in Austrialia which from everything I gather has done a MUCH better job than we. Unfortunately our nation (and indeed nearly all nations) has never actually been serious about understanding or combating the virus, so we've gotten the worst of both worlds; poorly implemented/followed non-therapeutic interventions (e.g., "lockdowns", mask mandates, etc.) causing immense disruption to people's lives and livelihoods WITHOUT the benefit of stopping the disease. And a bunch of finger pointing to boot. Because many people won't (or can't) get tested, mask up, social distance when virus abounds, and get vaccinated/boosted we now live in a country where a thousands of people are dying every week of a largely preventable disease, and many more may suffer after effects for a very long time.

I am glad for those of you who've tested positive didn't end up in the hospital, or worse. But all of us have to stop thinking about this virus as something that I fight and approach it as something that WE fight. I can test, boost, and mask up all day long but if my neighbors don't that doesn't do me much good. All of us have to think about the virus like the virus it is; it needs hosts. More easy hosts = more virus = more sick/dead. Every new infection allows the virus to potentially spread further, so it does actually matter to ME what YOU do to #1 prevent infection and #2 stop the spread if you do get it. No man is an island.

Please think about all the people who are tired of the pandemic for a very different reason; they are in danger because they are immune compromised, or have cancer, or have some other underlying condition that puts them at high risk. Or children too young to get vaccinated and completely at the mercy of everyone around them. Imagine what it is like for them to hear that folks don't want to get the vaccine (some of them cannot), or wear a mask, or do much of anything to stop a virus that puts their health and lives at great risk. A very wise man once commanded us to “Love thy neighbor as thyself." Many people would do well to reflect on what that means in these "COVID times."