A new year means a chance to start afresh.
Thanks to the amazing scientific progress, we now have new COVID-19 vaccines. And even though the world is full of dubious, doubtful, and even dangerous treatments for disease, it’s clear that the approved vaccines are effective and safe.
But even with newfound hope, there’s still a long road ahead. It’s not just the logistics regarding delivery and distribution of vaccines but because new variants (and coronavirus reinfections) are fuelling a second wave that’s leaving many people chronically ill with ‘long COVID’.
In sickness
If we want to build a world that prioritises healthcare, we have a lot of work to do. That starts with providing better healthcare for everyone, from the elderly stuck in care homes when that’s not what many want to the young who are changing family plans to account for the long-term effects of COVID-19.
This change also includes reforming institutions like the World Health Organisation and Centres for Disease Control, as well as supporting healthcare workers on the frontlines. It’s the only way we can prepare for even bigger challenges, including future viral outbreaks and the growing problem of superbugs, all while opening up the doors for further medical advances too.
In health
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about how the coronavirus hacks the immune system (and how the body fights back) it’s that we all have to take care of our health. Indeed, given that COVID-19 is here to stay and could even be with us forever, we have to stop relying only on the experts and instead set personal goals for things like proper nutrition, regular exercise, and adequate sleep.
It’s much like James Dickey writes in Deliverance (also available on Audible):
The old human body is the same as it always was. It still feels that old fear, and that old pain.
Let the healing begin.
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