Over the past 18 months, the COVID-19 virus infected people around the globe. It upended jobs, family relationships, education, travel, etc.
More than 624,000 Americans died during this pandemic.
Unfortunately, the response to the virus (scientific belief vs hoax) was politicized early and continues to be so now.
Vaccine Development
The worldwide scientific community understood vaccines needed to be developed as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, people were staying home and cities had curfews. Businesses in certain industries shut down and only essential workers were permitted to travel to their jobs at hospitals, supermarkets, and public transit routes.
Many families started ordering grocery deliveries followed by washing down everything that entered the house. People began wearing masks when they needed to be out.
The worldwide scientific community developed effective vaccines very quickly.
I was very frightened in the early days. Reading press articles on the extreme measures being adopted in Wuhan, China to restrict the spread of the virus was alarming.
Fortunately, my job as a marketing consultant was not impacted and I continued to work with clients throughout the pandemic. I already worked from my home and was familiar with zoom meetings. So I didn’t need unemployment coverage. But the thought of hospitalization with no visitors and the chance of needing a ventilator frightened everyone, especially those over 65 years of age.
Delta Variant
Now more than a year later and currently dealing with the Delta variant (more easily transmitted) we are experiencing a new wave of infections. The vaccines had been such a relief and we thought our lives might return to normal. But the unvaccinated are being infected and the hospitals are crowded now with younger people.
We now have a lot more information on the virus and its transmission and treatment. I am back to wearing a mask inside stores but no longer believe (as I had at the beginning of this nightmare) that I’ll never touch an elevator button or door handle again.
We just recently canceled our third planned trip overseas. Only time will determine when our lives will be back to pre-pandemic activities.
