"The hopes, the prayers, of many of us, is a vaccine. One which will end this thing. Kill it dead. Allow our lives to go back to what they were in 2019 and before. That is the other side I am looking for. That is the other side that I think the rest of us are looking for also. What does the other side of midnight look like? We will find out together."
I will say one thing about being sequestered. Lots and lots of time to think. Many of the thoughts I have been having are not good thoughts, as worry has invaded my thinking process. Worry about my family's health, worry about the economy, worry about the health and well being of our medical professionals as well as our first responders. Mostly however, I think about what is on the other side of this. What life, what our world, will be like. What it will look like.
Seems like everyday, another part of our normalcy for the type of summer we are used to - vanishes. Like yesterday, we found out that all the city beaches and pools will be closed. We have already found out the locals up north don't want the cabin people up "in their neck of the woods". Why? It is for the most part, untouched by this virus. Having all these party people from the metro invading their towns and lakes, could change all of that in a heartbeat.
How about going out to eat? Sitting with friends, having a drink, sharing a meal, and just catching up on things. Miss that? I sure do. Just seems like yesterday that my wife and I had lunch with our good friends, Cal and Ellen. And just like that, Ellen passed away when we were down in Florida. The restaurant we ate at, is now closed for dining. Little did we know while having that most enjoyable lunch with our friends, it would be the last one we would have with Ellen. Maybe the last at that restaurant.
When we do come out on the other side, there are some lessons to be learned, and some realities to be endured. The lessons are simple up to this point. Even though we can trip along life's road in a merry and carefree manner, things in our country can turn on a dime. Many, many folks were not prepared for it. They were not prepared to walk into a store and see empty shelves. They were not prepared for social distancing. They were not prepared for constant ultra-cleaning (like 20 sec hand washing). And they were not prepared for this modified "shelter in place". Hopefully, once this is over, most of us will be better prepared and better "preppers".
Here is the grim reality. Not all of us will make it through to the other side. Especially if you live on the east coast. Or parts of Michigan. Or New Orleans. Or even California. If the statistics hold, up to .66% of us will not survive this. I know - that is less than one percent of our population. But that is still losing Americans in the six figure range. Those kind of losses make our 9/11 losses look like a blip on the radar.
The second reality is this - if we don't come up with a kick ass vaccine (and soon), this thing will be with us to some degree, even after the "spike" is over. Some will have immunity to it once this spike is over, some might not. The docs just don't know at this time. And so long as this thing is still with us, even to a lesser degree, we can't return to total normal.
The hopes, the prayers, of many of us, is a vaccine. One which will end this thing. Kill it dead. Allow our lives to go back to what they were in 2019 and before. That is the other side I am looking for. That is the other side that I think the rest of us are looking for also. What does the other side of midnight look like? We will find out together.
Nah. We have a vaccine for the flu that is widely used every year, and still about 30% of those who are vaccinated get the flu anyway, and it kills 20,000-50,000 Americans per year, FAR more than the CV has so far (or is likely to, IMHO).
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