‘Rona Virus – We Got Shot

~ Amusives

Vaccines are in short supply here in Canada – so The Car Guy and I decided we would delay getting ours (we are retired seniors who can easily continue to shelter in place). We hoped  that ‘our shot’ would go to younger, but more vulnerable people. (That part worked well – our younger siblings got their shots a few weeks ago.)

We would have kept delaying ‘shot’ time for several more months if the various governments and venues hadn’t  fouled things up a bit. Our Province decided to delay the timing for the second shot by up to four months. Other governments and service providers started to talk about two dose immunization as a requirement to travel or take part in normal life again. We started counting the months until we’d like to visit our home and friends in Arizona and decided we should book our shots.

We ‘got shot’ last Friday. Just in time to be locked down again.

The Province of Ontario is in lockdown too. The Police can’t actually come to your house, of course, but I’m sure there are a few people who wish that officers could do removals…

Hard to forget early 2020 – toilet paper was a major issue. This year, in some places, it is lumber. Prices have gone up by as much as 50%.

Also in 2020 – remember Flatten the Curve?

The goal, you might remember, was to keep the health care system from being overwhelmed. Fourteen months later, we’re doing it all over again. It’s like trying to staple jello to a wall.

There have been a number of Anti-Lockdown Rallies in Alberta. Some people have been pushed to the limit of their endurance. There are concerns that these Rallies will be super-spreader events. The one that caused the most uproar was a Rodeo  that was attended by about 4000 people over the course of 2 days. It has been 10 days since it took place and no cases have been linked to the event so far.

Last June, 15000 people in Edmonton Alberta attended a BLM Rally. That rally, and all the BLM rallies across Canada did not result in an increase of Covid cases either, officials say.

I think many people understand that lockdowns are more damaging to some people than to others. The question being raised in some quarters recently – are lockdowns actually Systemic Racism?

I think we are going to see interesting ‘discussions about best pandemic practices’ once the virus and the world have come to a mutual understanding!

18 thoughts on “‘Rona Virus – We Got Shot”

  1. Amazing to realise the whole world is grappling with the same or very similar problems! As a Brit, I enjoyed your ‘bunker’ humour here – if that’s the right word (preferable to ‘gallows’ anyway!) – which definitely crosses borders!

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    1. I have personal opinions about risk management, lockdowns, freedom to speak and protest, etc, etc – but I don’t see much benefit to causing a backlash on this blog from people who don’t agree with me!
      I am hopeful that many countries will initiate a full inquiry (like Boris Johnson has said there will be) into how governments responded to Covid. On a go forward basis, I think pandemic response has to be done with a full understanding of best practices to mitigate risk.

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      1. Yes, many contentious issues everywhere in this unfolding story – learning lessons will need care and delicacy as well as honesty.

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  2. I honestly don’t think that anyone knows what the best course of action would be. I do agree though that in the years after this is behind us there will be many studies so hopefully we’ll learn something from it all.

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    1. I hope every government initiates a full inquiry into what they did and where they failed. It is always easy for governments to boast about success, but when the next pandemic comes, it will be the understanding of how they failed that will matter the most.

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      1. I think it will be the academics who will do the studies and write papers about what works and what didn’t (and why). Governments actions are too political to help us in the next pandemic. They have to balance advice against voter expectations and try to remain true to party policies. A liberal government will always respond differently than a conservative government. What was best for them, at that time, based on what they did or didn’t know may make for interesting reading in the future but it’s the scientists and academics who will really analyze what works best.

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        1. I agree that the scientists and specialists will do the studies and write the papers, but it is the politicians who initiate the actions. I think Covid’s 3.4 million and counting deaths has pushed us to a cross roads where governments can truly ‘follow the science’ or they can follow the pressure of the voters who put them in power.

          The first government that has signalled they are willing to examine their actions is Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the UK. He “announced a full public inquiry into Covid will start in spring 2022. A judge-led investigation will look at the full handling of Britain’s pandemic, putting the PM’s decisions ‘under a microscope’ … “I feel personally very, very strongly that this country has been through a trauma like no other, it is absolutely vital for the sake of the bereaved, for the sake of our country, that we should understand exactly what happened. We should learn the lessons – we have been learning lessons throughout – but we need to have a very clear understanding of what took place over the last 14 months.”

          I would be very surprised if Trudeau announced an inquiry into his governments handling of Covid… but I could be wrong.

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  4. Lock downs might not have been as necessary had people worn appropriate masks and social distanced. Lots of people died who wouldn’t have had to. Hopefully the people who refused to wear masks will not also refuse to be vaccinated. Like you, I hope we have learned from this pandemic. We need to be much better prepared in the future. –Curt

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    1. I agree we need to be better prepared, and it won’t be a one size fits all solution, either, will it?!

      In Canada 81% of the deaths were people over the age of 70 – and 70% were living in senior care homes (the international average for Covid Care Home deaths is 41%). 79% of the people who died had 3 or more serious health conditions. 63% of those who were hospitalized had 2 or more serious health conditions. We have had strict mask mandates for 9 months and very limited opportunities for social gatherings for 6 months.

      So, locking healthy, mask wearing, socially distanced, able bodied Canadians down for a year didn’t stop Covid from finding its way into even more strictly locked down seniors care centres. There were issues revolving around staff of Care Homes, but it remains to be seen how our Governments approach a racial education and wage problem.

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  5. Thank you for the comic relief in between your paragraphs, Margy. We need the lighter side as much as the learning in these situations. Brought a laugh.

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  7. Great post, Margy. Toilet paper has once again become an issue in our house. Robbie, the new puppy, has destroyed two rolls in two days as he has discovered that he loves shredding it. My husband and I must now remember to shut the bathroom door every time we exit. Being old dogs, we’re having trouble remembering to do this all the time. (Also, the price of pups in this pandemic is UNBELIEVABLE.)

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    1. Your story should be good for at least one poem!
      Glad we aren’t in the market for a dog. The price of lumber, however, is going to seriously impact our budget if we do the projects we had planned.

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  8. I never did think that lock downs would work, but I was in the minority on that opinion and didn’t go public with it. In our country (US) vaccines are what are driving the numbers down. And I do think we’ll be feeling the effects of lock downs for a long time, but politicians being politicians, I doubt that we’ll learn any lessons from it and do anything better next time.

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    1. It will be interesting to see what happens this fall – did the numbers go down primarily because of vaccines, or was seasonality also a factor? Did numbers go down because the highly vulnerable mostly all died?
      How big a role did lock downs, masks and social distancing play?
      There are so many variables – it will be interesting to see how the number crunches tease out the threads that tell us what worked and what didn’t.

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