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I think most can agree that since March 2020, our world has been in a constant state of upheaval. The initial fear and disbelief that was the pandemic, got assistance from social and economic unrest the like of which I have never experienced in my 66-years. This confluence of staggering events was further exacerbated by a political climate that pitted family and friends against each other. Neither willing to cede their opinion regardless of common sense or the dire position it put our national well-being. During all this mind-numbing chaos, the economy kept chugging along—oblivious to what was happening in the real world. We somehow got through it (most of us anyway). 58% of us (or whatever number this moving target is) got vaccinated, not the hoped for, or expected 70%. The goal of 70% vaccination was the target for heard immunity, and based on the attitude in January, this was a slam-dunk. So what happened? There are as many reasons are there are opinions it seems. Neither of my 30+ year old kids are and they have no intention of getting vaccinated. One is quite militant, the other has not really explained his reason. I thought if travel restrictions were enforced, that may make the difference, but since there has been so much pushback in the sake of infringing on personal rights, and because few businesses were willing to take a stand so as not too lose more business, people are forsaking science to make a personal statement.

Am I troubled? I am getting there. Most businesses with a mask policy clearly state “Those that are fully vaccinated can enter without masking up, but those not fully vaccinated are required to wear a mask or face-covering.” Funny thing, our state posts we are 45% fully vaccinated, yet maybe 1-in-10 people are wearing a mask, which would mean we are at 80-90%. The other number is you have a 99.5% of not catching the Delta variant if you are fully vaccinated. So what is my problem? I’m vaccinated so why should I give a shit? The un-vaccinated are the ones getting sick/dying so it’s their problem right? That’s certainly true but that also means over 50% of the population is at risk. We are all on a tear to make up for every lost experience we missed out on during the pandemic, and with the exception of the TSA and the airlines, no one wears a mask unless there is a gun to our collective heads. Yeah, I can wear a mask, but statistically I’m not the one getting sick now.

So what’s my problem? The world cannot go through this again and land on its feet. I appreciate many have suffered but many actually gained wealth, and not just Wall Street. How many stayed home and were paid more than to work? The Fed can certainly continue to print money like they have by the trillions, but at some point people have to makes things. If we are not producing the parts, the widgets don’t get manufactured and they don’t get purchased so the worker is sent home but this time not on furlough. The forbearance and evictions that we keep regulating away will ultimately come due and payable on demand. No one will get a do-over. The main thing is people will not stay home again. They can’t. Many burned up savings getting through it and do not have that luxury, so work is critical. And how many stay-at-home moms can keep up that brain numbing pace? What about WFH? That option sounds appealing. Youtube was littered by all the funny and inspirational videos from those making the best of a bad situation and for some, it was an absolutely perfect alternative. This time will be different though because your company won’t need you to work from home, they won’t need you–at all.

Post Script: I can truly comprehend an apprehension on taking some medications—if you have a legitimate reason for that belief. For years, I have received a seasonal flu shot. Generally it was just a personal decision because I hate the flu—and it seemed to work because if I did catch it, it wasn’t terrible. Later, I also got it because of my position of being a co-caregiver to my elderly mother-in-law. We didn’t want to chance her getting sick, so I now had two reasons. 2019 changed that opinion. I received my annual shot as usual on a Thursday afternoon. By 1:30 am Friday, I was in the ER. Not ever having a heart attack before, it had most of the stated symptoms so I assumed that’s what it was. Let’s face it, if you are doubled over in pain and grabbing your chest, you don’t drink an Alka-Seltzer and go back to bed. After 4 rounds of blood work and EKG’s spanning 12 hours, the doctors were still unsure what the problem was, only that it wasn’t a heart attack. Finally the decision was made to move me to surgery and scope my heart. The verdict; pericarditis or inflammation of the sack around the heart. Nasty stuff. I won’t bore you with the rest except that the consensus was it’s root cause was the seasonal flu shot. Later it was determined that only 15% of my demographic suffered from this but the recommendation was to discontinue receiving the seasonal flu shot in the future, so in 2020, I passed but did start an enquiry into the possibility of the upcoming vaccine. At that point it seemed like mostly rhetoric and there was no base information. Fast forward to February 2021. My family physician, who earlier had actually researched my flu-shot-pericarditis and the probability of a reoccurrence (I was actually super impressed because generally he is a “wham bam, thank you ma’am “ sort of guy) just told me “don’t get it” without any info to back up that statement. My youngest had expressed a concern over me getting it too because of my prior incident and told me so numerous times. I was curious, and concerned, and because my age group was most at risk and had read (and heard) that this vaccine was totally different from the flu-shot I wanted a second opinion. That opinion came from my condo neighbor who, as it happens is the CEO of our state’s largest health care provider—and has been battling an aggressive cancer for as least as 5-6 years. I figured he had more at stake thanks most, and was privy to far more information than the average schmuck, so I asked him and his doctor wife. Without hesitation they said “Get the vaccine.” I did. No side effects other then felling a little off after the second shot. My point? If you are not getting a shot because you have a factual medical concern that an accredited doctor cannot answer to your satisfaction, I applaud you and respect your opinion. However, if it based on your desire to show the world that “No one will tell me what to do” I ask you to reconsider your reasoning and ask a simple question—did you get vaccinated for measles as a child, and if so did you get the measles? If you did, you sure as hell didn’t die from it did you!