June 2022

Let’s Learn To Live And Thrive With Covid
by Diana MaKieve

I think everyone is tired of hiding behind our doors because of the fear of getting Covid. Yet it’s clear that the virus is not going to disappear as we all hoped. We just crossed the 1 million death milestone. How do we even get our heads around 1 million deaths and how do we understand the grief and sadness that number has caused? And it appears that we are in another surge, and yes, it’s true that not as many people are dying from the latest variants but we know more people in our families and social community that have gotten sick with Covid in the last months than in the prior 2 years. Even if we don’t die from Covid because of less deadly strains emerging, or Vaccines and boosters as well as anti viral medications, what are the life long implications? Flying laws are changing daily, and most national airlines are currently not requiring masks while flying. And, I’m still afraid.

This is our Conflict: Are we safe? Can we emerge into a world that still has an active mutating covid presence? Is it possible to downplay our fear of covid to accept that we may get sick for a week or so and survive- that this is our new world? And, can we freely travel without the fear of having one of those sick weeks happen in the middle of a vacation where you may not feel safe?

Let’s take a look at an expert and see what she has to say about out future. This Q&A featured Kizzmekia Corbett, assistant professor of immunology and infectious diseases, who helped develop the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine while working at the National Institutes of Health’s Vaccine Research Center.

From your vantage point,where do you think the pandemic is going? “The pandemic is not going away for some time on a global scale. I think that the virus, there’s going to be some level of predictability in the cadence of waves as we start to understand variants a little more and we start to understand waning immunity, temperature dependence, and all of these things a little bit more. And then the pandemic is going to go into some seasonality. The type of relief that we’re feeling right now is the same kind of relief we were feeling last year this time. And I expect that to be the same thing next year and the year after.”

Asked her main takeaway from the pandemic, Corbett said, “Probably that you shouldn’t take anything for granted. That the way that we live and the way that we assume that there will be a vaccine or a therapy, or there will be something at the end of the road for us because we’ve kind of sat in this bubble of privilege—I think that the pandemic really washed a lot of structural problems ashore.”

This scientist’s view echos much of what I have read and learned from our scientific community. The Pandemic is something we need to learn to live with. We aren’t going to have an endemic any time soon. It sounds like we will have waves of various variants, some seasonal and some waves that are less predictable. We don’t really know if the variants will become less deadly or only less deadly because we will have improved our vaccines, boosters and antiviral medication. We need to find a way to live this future, adapt to levels of safety that make sense and assume that members of our family and good friends may get sick and that we may be exposed. We may need to accept some risk to continue living our lives and raising our children and grandchildren.

So what does that mean, to accept some risk?

How to Avoid Getting Covid in a Mostly Mask-Free World By Lisa Jarvis

Some take aways from the article include: Assess your ventilation situation to make good choices- Wear your mask on the airplane when the ventilation system is off such as during boarding and waiting. Once flying the air flow in most airlines is pretty good. Wear your mask in any crowded and not well ventilated situation. Choose a well fitting N95 to be sure you have the best chance. Choose to sit outdoor rather than sit elbow to elbow with other strangers indoors at a restaurant. It’s spring so plan outdoor picnics and hikes rather than movie theaters unless it’s well ventilated and sparsely attended. Sports arenas, concert venues, and even shopping centers may have great ventilation and/or air conditioners blasting to keep the air moving. Get vaccinated and boosted: “Beyond lowering the risk of severe disease, scientists have found that it improves the potency and breadth of the memory immune cells so they are better equipped against new variants.”

Also, be smart about attending family gatherings, reunions, and events. Find out if invitees are asked to show their vaccination cards. Get a sense of how ventilated the space will be - windows open? fans running? or air-conditioning moving the air. There is nothing wrong with calling the host/hostess and asking. At least you can then assess the risk and make an informed decision to protect yourself and loved ones.

Organize play dates with your children at sports fields or playgrounds. Children love jungle gyms, swings and slides, but there are many outdoor games that don’t require extensive equipment. Here are a couple of websites with game ideas, both classic and novel for you to help get your children started playing outside.

https://www.wired.com/2009/08/simpleoutdoorplay/

https://www.performancehealth.com/articles/33-fun-outdoor-games-for-kids

We have learned to adjust to many new realities and this is one more. We have to be smart and assess our environment for safe air to breath. We can party, celebrate, laugh and love in safety. Greg Marcus, author of The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions, teaches about Equanimity and “the right amount of worry.” This is our new world and we want to live and thrive with the right amount of worry!