Vaccines and Pandemics

When COVID happened in 2020, we fought our way forward inch by inch. Pharmaceutical companies labored 24/7 to find a vaccine that would reduce the pandemic’s fury, slow it down, lessen its viral potency, and ultimately cure society of the disease itself. Scientists at many levels tried over and over again to find the one vaccine that would do all of this.

We came close. The COVID pandemic is much less one today than it was in 2020. It is, however, not cured. That will take more years while the disease morphs into still more models that confuses everyone. Still, symptoms are drastically lessened. Deaths are much less common these days, and there is hope that many people are immune to the disease itself. I am 81 and came through the entire pandemic so far without contracting the disease. Rocky as well managed to skip the pandemic, and he had several immunological challenges at the same time.

My daughter’s family household had it twice if not a third time. Same for my son’s family. Each time they were sick, symptoms were less than the previous time.

Both Rocky and I had/have health conditions that would have been killers had we had the virus, at least that’s what everyone said. I count both of us very fortunate at escaping the virus. Rocky is gone now from unrelated diseases (cancer). I continue unaffected.

There is a but appearing. My weekend trip to Wisconsin on November 16 and 17, found us exposed to COVID from a Saturday evening visit. One of our hosts contracted COVID. The other has so far tested negative. We too are asymptomatic to date. I have not tested for COVID but my daughter has and is so far negative. Again, lucky so far.

I am relieved that vaccines have appeared to be successful. And I believe in the vaccines. Make no mistake about it, we had the right people in the right places to discover treatments and vaccines to battle COVID to a remaining whimper, not a death sentence. It should be mentioned that Dr. Anthony Fauci was invaluable in this effort and in the HIV/AIDS vaccine effort. He is a hero of continuing reputation and achievement.

Our government agencies do awesome work. Most of this work is unheralded but extremely important. Criticism of government employees at every level is unfair by trump’s MAGA fans. They could not be more wrong.  That doesn’t mean federal employees are always right and without fault. We are all human and have faults at various times of our careers. In government and out, people are human beings and err.

Let’s celebrate successes and near misses alike. Solutions are only gained when we mere mortals try to do the right thing. Most of the time our confidence is well placed.

November 25, 2024

 

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