Covid - 3 Years Later
First off, no - I do not have covid again (knock on wood)! And I’m hoping to keep it that way because my covid experience was downright miserable. I’m very aware that we’re creeping towards the cooler months and all of the germs that come with the autumn and winter. Perhaps I’m overly sensitive to this shift, but I’ve noticed a definite shift in the attitude and approach to covid recently, especially since the government announced that it would keep the current isolation requirements in place. This means that if you test positive for covid in New Zealand, you’ll need to isolate for seven days. There is a fair amount of grumbling about this, even though the seven day isolation period has been in place for quite some time. It feels like people just forgot that covid is still out there during the spring and summer and all of a sudden there’s been an unpleasant reminder and snap back to reality because…
Life is more or less back to normal. People still wear masks, but it isn’t required anywhere except healthcare settings. I’d say on any given trip to the grocery store I’ll see four people wearing masks. There are a handful of kids wearing masks at schools, but now it is the exception rather than the norm. People shake hands, hug, blow out birthday candles, don’t social distance, and have no trouble crowding onto public transportation or planes just like it is December of 2019. And this clearly has the government a little worried going into winter.
There has been a huge push for people to get flu and covid boosters, more so than in previous years. As of April 1, if you are over 30 and haven’t had covid in the past six months, you’re eligible for the bivalent booster. My GP sent out a message that they would have a vaccine clinic starting on April 1. Unfortunately, I didn’t call to book my appointment for a few days, and by the time I made that call, they didn’t have anything available until April 26. No problem - I simply walked into my local Life Pharmacy on the way to the grocery store and got a booster after waiting for two people in front of me. No hassle (and no charge)! Alternatively, I could’ve scheduled both vaccines through the existing Book My Vaccine website, but the opportunity presented itself, so I took it!
So all of my fingers and toes are crossed that we don’t get hit with covid again. I’ve stocked up on hand sanitizer and have masks at the ready. Since case numbers aren’t reported much anymore (see: life is more or less back to normal) I like to keep an eye on the official Ministry numbers that can still be found here. I’m skeptical that the numbers are as accurate as they once were, but I think watching the trends will let me know when/if I need to worry. Let’s hope we get through the winter relatively unscathed!
