A visualization of the COVID-19 virus. Photo by: iSO-FORM LLC
Are we still in a pandemic?
My logical brain says yes, yes we are. Several people I know have had COVID-19 recently, more than at almost any other point in the past two and a half years. The provincial dashboard shows there were 59 deaths the week of May 14 and that as of May 19, there were 540 people in hospital and 49 people in intensive care. There have been more than 40,000 deaths from COVID-19 in Canada, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam reported.
Tam tweeted this week that she is “cautiously optimistic that warmer months will bring some reprieve from high transmission rates,” we should still be wearing masks. So yes, logical brain, you’re right, we are still in the middle of a life-threatening pandemic.
My emotional brain, however, is done. If I don’t have to wear my mask – i.e. nobody else is wearing one – I take mine off and feel happy about it. When I participate in an activity that was popular in the before times, like going to a restaurant, a movie or a concert, I absolutely love it. I feel happy and relieved to be able to be in the presence of strangers, enjoying a pleasurable activity. Afterwards, though, remorse often kicks in when I realize if I get COVID I could spread it to somebody more vulnerable.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and B.C. Minister of Health Adrian Dix must also be feeling “done.” They haven’t held a COVID-19 press briefing in weeks. I hope they’re having at least a little bit of well-deserved rest and not thinking too much about the pandemic.
You’d be forgiven for thinking the world has forgotten about the pandemic. Social media is full of people travelling, after two long years of staying home. I’m very tempted, but still haven’t made the leap. I haven’t been on a plane or left the province since 2019.
I heard today that a Canadian study found that people with long-term exposure to air pollution may have more severe COVID-19 cases. It makes me wonder if there is a link between climate change and the emergence of COVID-19. There’s no evidence of that so far, but the Harvard School of Public Health reports that the root causes of climate change, like deforestation, also increase the risk of pandemics. Even if climate change is not connected to COVID-19, the World Health Organization reports that outdoor pollution kills 4.2 million people a year, while COVID-19 has killed 6.3 million people in two and a half years.
Despite the distractions of a global pandemic, war in Ukraine, rising inflation, or the latest health scare, monkey pox, climate change must not be forgotten and will require collaboration and cooperation on a global scale.
Meanwhile, a new omicron variant (BA.2.12.1) is causing a resurgence in cases across the United States. B.C.’s COVID-19 modelling group shows that variant is growing at the highest rate, but that overall numbers are still low. Dr. Tam said some of the omicron sub-lineages have increased transmissibility. Yet another wave could be, and likely is, on its way.
“We are keeping an eye on it. There are always abilities for surges to occur, particularly in under-vaccinated populations. That wouldn’t be unexpected,” Tam said. “What I’m really looking for are some substantial changes, where there’s an entirely new variant of concern that is not an omicron variant.”
She urged everyone to remain vigilant and said she would be watching for any resurgence in the fall.
The modelling group also looks at excess deaths – the number of deaths above expected – and found that just half of B.C.’s excess deaths since the pandemic began have officially been attributed to COVID-19, even after considering the unexpected deaths from last year’s heat dome.
A link has been found between even mild cases of COVID-19 and the development of diabetes, as well as changes in the brain. Long covid is also a concern.
So even though I’m emotionally over COVID-19, I’m not going to forget about it. I will continue to take precautions and do my best to avoid infection, and even worse, spreading any infection I might get.