Back Down the Rabbit Hole
So how you YOU handle all the news of the new surge in COVID due primarily to omicron? It makes me feel that, after a brief time of a little normalcy, we are right back in the middle of the storm. I feel exasperated, frustrated and every sort of sick and tired of this as anyone.
The stress is back..
I was out in stores last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday then spent the weekend wondering, what the hell was I doing out so much? Sure I’m masked up but then while I’m in the rabbit hole I read, well omicron is as contagious as measles and a cloth mask is not really much protection. I head to Amazon and order KN95 masks. I was thinking, not just me, but my daughter is in visiting from WA state and I want to be sure when she travels back, she is as protected as possible.
How much information is too much that the amount of information you can get, is just overwhelming? I wrestle with the balance of wanting what I need to know, sharing what I think is useful and being overwhelmed that oh, maybe I need to read these 2 articles also. Just as wearing a mask is to protect myself and others, so is wanting to share good information. Hey did you know the community center is doing a drive through testing clinic? Hey you can search the local pharmacies online to see who might have test kits in stock? The Moderna CEO said if you have the booster, you are 37x more protected than no booster against omicron. Oh and the FDA is going to approve some pills for if you do get it.
I think I feel that responsibility and the stress that goes with it, because I worry about pandemic fatigue and people just being more lackadaisical about the best things to do. When the Governor puts out an “advisory” that everyone wear a mask inside, it’s easy to call bullshit on that as a meaningless gesture. That’s especially true when the state, in the midst of this surge, ends contact tracing. Actions from leaders, or more properly stated, inaction, speaks volumes.
That said, there is nothing stopping each of us from doing the right things to protect ourselves, our families, friends and community. The argument that fewer people are getting very sick is not really helpful, because if a lot more people are getting sick and spreading it, you still have a health care crisis. Cape Cod Hospital, the closest to me, reported having no beds available because of COVID cases. We are right back where we were.
I recently saw that Massachusetts had about the same number of hospitalizations as Canada. Mind you, there are 5x as many people in Canada as Massachusetts.
Yep, life in the rabbit hole is a stressful place to be. I’m trying consciously to break away and just do some things I enjoy, though often that comes with the caveat of, is it ok to go here or there? But I want you all to be safe and healthy also, not only not getting a virus, but being a place inside your head where you can say, yeah this sucks again, but I can handle it.
Lean on each other, talk to each other, do what you can. The best gift we can give each other this season is caring.
