Solutions and facts

To the editor:

Let’s discuss the uncontested facts about COVID, Omicron or whatever else is now out there:

1. Vaccinations and boosters work and, to be at your safest, you should get them.
2. Masks work. We should all wear them indoors when not eating or when in indoor spaces where we can’t keep six feet of social distance and we are unsure if others in the space are vaccinated.
3. It is up to you if you feel unsafe and want to stay away from everyone and not travel. Not much of a life, but it is your choice.
4. Medical advice on the latest science is obtainable from your doctor or on the websites of any hospital or government health agency.
5. To find out the status of COVID in your community and to determine if schools and other entities are closed or certain activities are curtailed, you should visit your home’s local government website.
6. You should follow the government-imposed health regulations in any place you visit. You may not agree with them, but you don’t have a choice.

Now, that wasn’t so hard. All of the blather and the garbage on the Internet and social media is probably irrelevant and possibly harmful based on what we know to be the most efficient way for individuals to take care of their health.

Since we have solved all questions about your health, you should consider what else is bothering you. Is it the economy and inflation? While I won’t say your guess is as good as any economist’s, I will say that most of them believe that inflation will slowly come down over the next year based on everything from success in clearing up supply chain issues, increased participation in the work force, more computer chip production, etc. In the meantime, I would wait to buy a car.

Obviously we don’t have much control over the difficulties facing us. We do have control over obtaining the best information available and making prudent choices based on facts. It is true that Omicron infections seem more benign, but also more contagious than prior variants. Does that necessarily mean that we may fairly soon enter into a different phase of public health, where cases continues to abate and those of us who are fully vaccinated are not at substantial risk of death from the disease and can lead moderately normal lives? Who knows? The data are coming in and everyday professionals around the world are figuring out where the science will lead us.

It is human to worry about the unknowable and to grasp at anything to alleviate feeling lost and adrift in a sea of false information and promises and political non-science. We know what works. Individually, we should take care of ourselves and hope the unvaccinated and anti-maskers don’t die (and in the process infect others).

Stephen Cohen
Egremont