I hate to be a portent of doom and gloom, but the most recent developments on the global pandemic front could be indicative of our way of life, our entire social structure, whatever our culture, never being the same again... ever!
Russia acted quickly against Covid-19, controversially rushing through the research, testing, and production of the Sputnik vaccine during 2020 while much of the world hoped the virus would simply “go away,” and while the testing process certainly attracted criticism from the research sector. The vaccine was the first to be registered, globally, and by the middle of this year it had been approved in 67 countries including the highly populated India, the Philippines, and Brazil.
Russia’s problem has been in achieving sufficient levels of vaccination to achieve effective levels of herd immunity, which, like it or not, appears to be a prerequisite for a nation, indeed all nations, to ‘live’ with Covid-19. At last count, Russia had managed to achieve 49 million doses of vaccine administered, however this accounts for less than a third of the total population. They simply did not have a healthcare infrastructure capable of managing a more efficient rollout.
The count touched 40,000 new cases and 1,159 fatalities last Wednesday alone. Critics of the government are becoming emboldened and blaming the ruling party for keeping the population in ignorance, to maintain control, and hiding behind the “philosophies of fear that have ruled the nation since Lenin,” according to critics.
At the other end of the scale, New Zealand locked the gates and basically threw away the key for 18 months, letting very few people in, with government managed quarantine being a lottery with few winners of which I have personal experience.
Thousand’s login, each day, to ‘win’ a Managed Isolation and Quarantine spot for two weeks locked in a hotel, for ‘only’ $3,100 per person. However, ships and seamen entering the ports, and ineffective overseas screening, particularly in South Asia, have proven to be chinks in the armour of the policy necessitating a change in policy.
Now, the emphasis is on achieving a 90 per cent national vaccination rate, to reach a sustainable herd immunity level, but this plan has come under severe threat from the Libertarians, who feel their choices and freedoms are being eradicated, and ethnic groups who are, irrationally it seems, professing a fear of, and cultural taboos towards modern medicines. My opinion is that mobile phones were probably a greater threat to both groups... but there you go. This tiny nation has achieved most of its goals, with only one fatality in the last year, but their struggles simply illustrate how intractable we humans can be.
Worse than either scenario however is news from the United Kingdom and Europe healthcare professionals of the high number of infected cases returning for hospitalisation subsequent to their earlier treatments, as they are presenting 6-12 months later with respiratory issues, many with clots.
These are probably not life-threatening if treated promptly, but can be painful and distressing. Their treatment is also very much a ‘hands-on’ issue, meaning that resources and health professionals not only must put in extended ‘professional-to-patient’ hours, but it is distressing even for them, seeing the pain and the fear in their patients’ eyes.
“It’s quite exhausting, as you feel every wheeze, cough, and rack,” said one after a seven-hour stint with a patient. “She will recover, but goodness, it must feel like every breath is your last.”
Our lives are changing again, and now we must find the best way to live with this killer in our midst... What is it about mankind’s plans that makes it so easy for the deities to laugh at us?
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