Covid-19 and Me

I go to great lengths to protect myself from COVID-19. From the beginning, I have worn a mask, and I was one of the first vaccinated, then got a second shot and a booster. If the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends further boosters, I’ll be first in line.

Why? Because I’m such an obvious target for the pandemic to take down. Because of my age (I’ve already long since lived past the life expectancy for American males) and my history of lung cancer, the likelihood that COVID-19 would prove fatal are too great for me to take chances.

So I’ve been isolated except for buying groceries for almost two years. In the last few months, now that almost two-thirds of Americans are vaccinated, I’ve attended a few meetings, but I always try to sit at least six feet away from others. I try to avoid shaking hands and always wear a mask except when I know that everyone around me is vaccinated.

The pandemic has hit close to home. The families of two of my four children have been infected. Thank God, none of them became seriously ill.

I continue to be dumbfounded that some otherwise sensible people are refusing to wear a mask and be vaccinated. They claim that mask and vaccine mandates violate their freedom of choice. Nonsense. None of us have the right to make decisions that endanger the health and lives of others.

My sense is that as more people are vaccinated, the pandemic will dwindle. But for all I know, it’s possible that another COVID-19 variant impervious to the vaccine could appear. Then we’d be starting all over again.