15 March 2021
One year ago today the first coronavirus shutdown began in my home town. It was a scary time. There was so much we didn’t know.
Back then we were mistaken about a lot of things.
| MARCH 2020: Then | MARCH 2021: Now We Know |
|---|---|
| Obsessively Washing Hands | It's airborne. Hard to catch from surfaces |
| Nowhere is safe | Outdoors is safe when people keep distance |
| It's an urban disease (NYC) | Rural areas hard hit |
| Mask confusion; bad messaging | Masks stop the spread |
| Hoarding helps | No it doesn't |
| Everything has to be shut down | The library is open! |
| U.S. won't have trouble | U.S. has highest death toll in the world |
| This won't last long | It will last as long as people spread it |
The best part is that now we have hope. There are three vaccines and they are becoming more available.
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Alaska leads the country in vaccine rollout. Pennsylvania hasn’t done so well. Though I am vaccine-eligible it was very hard to get one in Pittsburgh this winter. The logjam started to break up last month. I’m getting my 2nd Moderna shot on Friday!
If you’re fully vaccinated your life improves. According to the CDC:
If you’ve been fully vaccinated you can gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask. You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household (e.g. relatives) without masks(*), and if you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms(*).
— CDC: When You’ve been Fully Vaccinated
Things are thawing slowly. Even if fully vaccinated we should wear masks in public, avoid medium and large-sized groups, delay domestic and international travel, watch for symptoms.
The pandemic will last as long as people spread it. Get vaccinated as soon as you can!
Last year, Fear. This year, Hope. Next year 🙂
(photos from Wikimedia Commons; click on the captions to see the original)
Nice summary of Covid facts and fallacies.
Thank you for this column. Getting my second Moderna on Saturday-looking forward to Easter and dinner with my family.
Great, informative article, Kate. (as are all of your posts..and appreciated) I am getting my second Moderna a week from tomorrow. I know people who have had no difficulty and other who said they got hit by a truck with their second Moderna. The advice I got was drink tons of water and keep a good supply of Tylenol at the ready. Good luck.
I had my second Moderna on March 2nd. Slight fever, around 100° F, the day after. Fine after that. That’s better than even a mild case of Covid.
PS Main side effect was a feeling of great relief.
We received our second shot on the one year mark, March 15. The day after only a tiny bit of soreness in the arm. Glad you are getting yours soon! Thanks for the good review.