The Third Wave
It is April 2021 and Vancouver is now going through it’s third wave of Covid. Numbers of sick and hospitalized are soaring and the more dangerous variants are gathering steam. Younger people are getting sick, and we now have our first cluster of thirty-year-old patients who have died. Our Premier committed a big faux-pas last week by blaming the younger age group for the spike in numbers, for which he received a huge backlash, and rightly so. They are the ones who are working and parenting, so it only makes sense that they would be more exposed. They are keeping the economy going and staffing our hospitals, care-homes, and grocery stores, so we should be eternally grateful for them.
Meanwhile, my age group of fifty plus has already received our first vaccine. We are the lucky ones who can go to the store now and feel like we might come out alive. Pretty soon there will be a party of us blue-hairs riding our electric wheelchairs in the streets, while the youth look on fearfully. I am actually glad that my daughter lives in the States because she has had access to a vaccine much sooner. Here in British Columbia, we are rolling out the vaccines by descending age. Thankfully, the government has started to target some vulnerable young people, like in ski resort towns, where cases have spiked. Of course, doctors and nurses were given the very first doses, but somehow all first responders were overlooked. It is a travesty that EMT’s, who drive Covid patients to hospital all day, have not yet been vaccinated. Neither have police or firemen. This makes no sense to me. Teachers are up next, which is also long overdue. It is a miracle that school has mostly stayed in session this whole year.
The province of British Columbia has approximately the same population as Los Angeles. This American city has already vaccinated its entire population once and almost half its citizens have received their second dose. The U.K. has reached herd immunity this week, as three-quarters of its population have either received vaccinations or had Covid. Canada has fallen well behind in delivery. We need to play catch-up now, and fast. How has your personal with Covid experience been? Please subscribe / comment below.
