In the Atlantic, Ed Yong writes about the impact of the current COVID variants and the state of the health care system.
There is a lot to take in here and his summary is most telling:
“Some experts are hopeful that Omicron will peak quickly, which would help alleviate the pressure on hospitals. But what then? Ranney fears that once hospitalizations start falling, policy makers and the public will assume that the health-care system is safe, and do nothing to address the staffing shortages, burnout, exploitative working conditions, and just-in-time supply chains that pushed said system to the brink. And even if the flood of COVID patients slows, health-care workers will still have to deal with the fallout—cases of long COVID, or people who sat on severe illnesses and didn’t go to hospital during the surge. They’ll do so with even less support than before, without the colleagues who are quitting their jobs right now, or who will do so once the need and the adrenaline subside. “Right now, there’s a sense of purpose, which lets you mask the trauma that everyone is experiencing,” Pooran said. “My fear is that when COVID is done with and everything does quiet down, that sense of purpose will go away and a lot of good people will leave.”
There’s a plausible future in which most of the U.S. enjoys a carefree spring, oblivious to the frayed state of the system they rely on to protect their health, and only realizing what has happened when they knock on its door and get no answer. This is the cost of two years spent prematurely pushing for a return to normal—the lack of a normal to return to.”
I am glad we have Ed Yong at “The Atlantic.” He’s always a voice of reason and a good example to others. Last month he canceled his own birthday party because he believed it was unconscionable to put people at risk over a trivial social event.
I look around me at the supermarket every week and wonder why people are so lackadaisical about masks. We all know omicron is milder, but why take chances? Why get sick (even a little bit sick) and possibly put unnecessary strain on the healthcare system now or in the near future? I’m vaxxed and boosted but still as vigilant as ever because I want to be responsible and not burden the system.
The public perception at the moment seems to be that omicron is so contagious, it’s practically inevitable and we may as well give in to it. Not me. I love my N-95 and I don’t want to take my health or my healthcare providers for granted.
I look better with an N95 8-)).
Seriously, there was some press in which the fine folks at UCSF were doing the debate about what should count as a COVID-19 admission, those who test at admission or those who are know to have the virus. I spoke to my rheumatologist last week and she was, for the first time I’ve known her, in a tizzy due to the uptick in the hospital where she works.
Here, our county health folks have asked us to comply with advice to stay at home, but the good old Chamber of Commerce is pushing back as are, of all people, the coaches at the local high schools. The kids ain’t afraid, they’re calling in sick and boycotting their schools due to what they think are lax measures.
See this article in the SFGATE for some confusing metrics.
Those metrics from SFGATE are indeed contradictory. I’ve read similar articles about Portland that are just like that.
Fingers crossed, maybe in a few months’ time there will be more data about Omicron and other emerging variants that will make it easier for everyone to agree on the right approach to testing, isolation, and going back out in public. Right now, people are just gonna believe whatever they want and do whatever they want. Come to think of it, this is the way things have been for the last 22 months.
Hang in there and let’s hope that something good is right around the corner.