THE CHOICES ARE CHANGE, OR COLLAPSE!
If COVID-19 hasn’t taught us an important lesson about our future then ultimately what will it take? How many more deaths is it going to take? Are we learning any lessons or have we simply just given up? Because it seems quite clear when I look around at the American landscape and the after affects of COVID fatigue which many of us are now suffering, it is a longing for how our lives used to be. That longing and hoping for our so-called great normal lives before COVID-19.
How’s that working out for you?
The coronavirus pandemic has changed the world and left countless people longing for a pre-pandemic way of life. That desire is likely only further straining our mental health. Our brains are very eager to get back to normal, to get back to January 2020. But as I’ve stated numerous times before that’s simply not possible. The dark cloud of coronavirus risk, meanwhile, will continue to linger — possibly for years. “Normality” means different things for different people. Tragically, for hundreds of thousands of Americans, a pre-pandemic life would include a loved one who has died of COVID-19 this year. For some Americans, a return to normal would mean restored health and financial stability. To others, it’s a world of concerts and gatherings, hugs and handshakes.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts have warned about the horrors of the 1918 Spanish Flu. After the first dangerous wave of infections that spring, cities and people relaxed their efforts to contain the virus and it came roaring back in the fall and winter, killing far more people. So far, COVID-19 hasn’t behaved the same way. There was no summer break, and we’re not seeing the ebb and flow that characterized the 1918 outbreak. It’s more like a forest fire spiking in one area while dying down in another. There’s nothing wrong with hoping for a better, more stable future. But it’s important to realize that is likely a long-term fantasy. The fight against this highly contagious virus continues to define daily life. Cases are exponentially rising and the death toll is comparable to some of our most tragic wars.
As long as the virus continues to spread, previously normal activities such as going to a bar, attending a crowded concert, or even hosting a family gathering over the coming holidays will continue to come with significant risks. And those risks aren’t only about your own health. There are so many people who have not changed their thought patterns. As the months drag on they feel as if living out their fantasies of a normal life are likely safe for them and their family, even when they’re not. Don’t’ act as if things are normal. That can be a tragic, tragic mistake.
We can all be very thankful that COVID-19 is in no way as virulent as the Spanish Flu, yet it’s still a killer virus that has caused 1.2 million deaths worldwide and climbing exponentially. I have been following this very closely from the beginning once it spread from Wuhan, China in December, 2019 and raced across Europe and found itself on the shores of America and beyond. Europe is now finding themselves in a brutal second wave with cases in most countries at higher case counts than the initial first wave. Countries in Europe that were doing extremely well and seemingly handling the pandemic well are now having to institute strict draconian lockdowns. The countries of both Germany and France instituted complete shut downs for one month effective immediately. Other countries in Europe are following suit. America that never has gotten the cases and certainly deaths to a manageable level. And now this week the cases are rising higher than they have since the height back in April and then July. America should've completely shut down 6 months ago when it had the chance. But it's past the point of no return and remember America is still on the first wave. What an absolute travesty of leadership.
For months, public health officials have predicted one comparison would stand: We will have a terrible winter. The fear is that cases will rise as more people spend more time indoors, get ever more tired of public health measures, travel for the holidays, and struggle with conflicting messages from national and local leaders. The majority of us that have worn facemasks and followed social distancing measures and CDC guidelines know full well that Trump has never had any national pandemic plan. We had 10 weeks to properly prepare and implement a plan back in February when we saw the damage it was doing in China and then Italy and spreading throughout Europe. Nothing was done and still we have no concrete plan climbing towards 250,000 dead. Health Metric Studies show that by February 2021 we will have 500,000 dead, and by this time next year possibly one million dead. A million lives lost, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children, husbands, wives, relatives, friends and loved ones gone.
Just as problematic is another dangerous judgment error that cognitive neuroscientists call “normalcy bias”. This mental blind spot refers to the fact that our gut reactions drive us to feel that the future, at least in the short and medium term of the next couple of years, will function in roughly the same way as the past. Normally. As a result, we tend to vastly underestimate both the possibility and impact of a disaster striking us. Moreover, we will rush to get back to normal even when we should be preparing for the aftershocks or continuation of the disaster.
Public health officials know that the situation will get bad, very bad. We can’t let up and with winter coming and flu season if we continue to relax measures in places where COVID-19 cases are higher or increasing then ultimately it will lead to increasing deaths at rates higher than previously seen. The predictions are depressing but it will all depend on what people do individually, as a family, as a community and as a nation.
Things might never go back to normal.
You may need to create a new normal.
And that’s okay.
Vincent Lyn
CEO/Founder at We Can Save Children