SMALL TALK: It’s a race against time for Global health authorities as third-wave gathers pace
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Right from Day 1, health authorities took the news of vaccines with cautious optimism – not because they didn’t think they would work, but because for them vaccines were a part of the solution for the pandemic, not a panacea. Unfortunately, the politicians botched this too – either by screwing the vaccine rollout altogether, loosening restrictions too soon, or some of the underdeveloped countries where they just can’t afford another lockdown for financial reasons.
I get it, you, me & everyone is just tired of being locked up in our houses and suffering from severe COVID-fatigue. We have had enough of not seeing people, going out to eat, meeting co-workers, etc., etc. But consider this, what could have been the last stretch in our battle against COVID-19 could now easily become a months-long ordeal, if we don’t listen to scientists as we have been for the past year or so.
Take the example of the U.S, where is the inoculation drive is perhaps the fastest and most widespread than in any other country right now. With over 3 million shots being administered every single day, the country is well on its path to achieving herd immunity in a matter of a few months at the most. United Kingdom is another example where more than half the population has been vaccinated.
However, there is one major difference – while the latter is still under strict lockdown expected to open slowly in the next few weeks, many states in the U.S have completely lifted the mask mandate as if things have returned to normal. This is despite repeated pleas from the scientific community to take things slowly and not reverse all the progress that has been made so far.
Most of Europe and many other parts of the world are already grappling with the third wave and have gone in lockdown mode or some form of new restrictions. And the situation is not too rosy in the U.S either – despite over 100 million Americans getting the shot, the cases plateaued at too a high level of 50-60k cases per day. And as feared they are ticking higher, to a possible fourth wave in the country.
The new and more contagious variants are taking hold globally as new infections and deaths rise – Brazil, India & many European countries have seen an alarming increase in the number of younger people being affected by the new variant. And here at home, many Canadian provinces are now under the strictest form of lockdown as hospitals reach a tipping point in their fight against COVID-19.
Light at the end of the tunnel just got a little further as all of us try to stay safe in the next chapter of this raging pandemic.
Faisal Khan