Tag: coronavirus

Posted in writing

Ominous Omicron

Posted on by MichelleMcHatton

We blinked and a new coronavirus variant is upon us. And we know it won’t be the last. But Omicron is the latest and will probably be the one with us through 2022. So buckle up, get vaccinated and keep your facemasks on. You thought 2020 was bad? I don’t think we’ve seen anything yet, folks.

The emergence of Omicron has given the medical world stronger standing on pushing for the booster vaccination shots. Which may be all fine and dandy for some but it’s really left me with a lot of questions at this point. Which really causes me to hesitate in getting a booster shot myself.

First they kept telling the 65+ population to get the booster shots. Then, in my state, at least, they said, nope, now anyone 18+ can get it. But I’m still wondering when you’re going to let my 16-year-old get it. Her last vaccination shot was in May, so it’s been six months and she’s clearly eligible. Oh, but she’s not 18. Yet I remember all the harking on getting the 12-17 year-olds vaccinated. But now they can’t get booster shots?

And what are you going to do about the 5-11 year-olds once they become eligible for booster shots? When are you going to allow children under five to get vaccinated? They will surely become the first victims of Omicron.

And the question still remains: what happens when the boosters wear off? Because you, I, the CDC, the FDA, Dr. Fauci and the lamppost all know it’s only going to be a matter of time before they will.

It’s no surprise to me that Omicron has come for a visit. It’s no surprise to me that it has become a “variant of concern”. We should all be concerned about Omicron and any other variant that emerges.

Your best bet? Don’t plan on going to many places, stay home as much as possible and when you do venture out, wear your damn facemask. At the rate the world is going, we’ll be wearing those for the next fifty years. The days of living your life without a facemask, especially in a medical setting, are over.

Posted in writing

Define “Dramatically Different Place”

Posted on by MichelleMcHatton

Yesterday Governor Charlie Baker stated that he is not changing his stance on masks for the state of Massachusetts because our state is in a “dramatically different place” than many other states.

Define “dramatically different place”. Are we in a “dramatically different place” because we don’t have our hospitals filled to capacity and not an ICU bed in sight? Are we in a “dramatically different place” because three-quarters of our state have received at least one shot? Although there is a quarter of our state who haven’t received any shots.

Until Massachusetts reaches and remains at zero cases, hospitalizations and deaths, we are “in the same place” as any other state in the country that is fighting the coronavirus. Baker also has to remember that the majority of our students have not even gone back to school yet. That’s when the real fun will begin.

There’s nothing “dramatically different” about people experiencing and dealing with a pandemic day in and day out. Our state’s experience may not be as dramatic as another’s, but it certainly isn’t different. Because Delta is not any better here than it is in Texas or Florida. It is the same highly contagious variant no matter where you are.