As I write this, this is the front page headline:
State hits daily COVID-19 record (6,140), while residents scramble for tests
Seattle Times, December 29, 2021
What a way to greet 2022!
But before moving on to 2022, I want to pause and be grateful for:
- Free, safe, and effective vaccines are now widely available
- Vaccines are approved for children 5 and older
- Over 70% of our adult population is fully vaccinated
- Two pills to treat COVID 19 have been newly approved by the FDA
- I live in Washington state where mask wearing indoors is required and there are a variety of vaccine mandates
- I play in King County that has a vaccine requirement for indoor dining
- My family is fully vaccinated
- My husband and I continue to be COVID free
- Dr. Fauci hanging in there at age 81!
Now to my 4 main areas of COVID-related irritation as 2021 draws to a close:
- Rapid tests are tough to find (c’mon, we’ve been at this for a long time)
- People won’t mask up – I consider masks a very MINOR irritation for safety’s sake
- If people are wearing masks, many aren’t COVERING THEIR NOSE (my pet peeve)
- Vaccine continue to be a political hot potato
Looking ahead to COVID in 2022, I hope:
- Omicron is the last hurrah and, if not, we can figure out a way to manage COVID as an endemic virus like we do the flu
- Fully vaccinated is redefined as 2 doses and a booster
- More restaurants, etc. require proof of vaccination for indoor activities. This has been the deal in B.C. since August. It seems to be working just fine
- Somehow, we figure out the magic needed to get more people to put their politics and fear aside and get vaccinated, along with their children
- Rapid tests are widely available and affordable
- People stop making a big deal out of wearing masks and COVER THEIR NOSE in the process
- We are able to safely travel to Italy in May
These are pretty big HOPES on my part. I will be curious to look back in December 2022 and see which ones, if any, bear fruit.
Hope – Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope!
Barak Obama, 44th U.S. President
Note: I decided to include our snow photos on this post instead of a yet another picture of the novel coronavirus 😊
Allene
Travels with Allene 