In a world that desperately wants to return to normalcy, the threat of COVID-19 appears to have been erased from many minds. No matter how wonderful it would be to accept that sentiment, unfortunately it isn’t true. COVID-19 is just as real as ever, and according to how many have been behaving, it will be here to stay.
Throughout the past year, I’ve heard many people voice their complaints and personal theories about the virus. Some have claimed “it’s a hoax,” others “just something our bodies will get used to.” The unfortunate truth behind both claims is that these ideologies depend on one idea and one idea alone. They have no back-up plan or alternative way to help the damage done if their personal ideology does not work out.
Several people are depending on the idea that the pandemic will resolve itself. They are taking very little measures to do their part and stop a potentially even larger disaster from happening. As a community, we must be proactive. The pandemic has been devastating to all and we need to do our part to end it while we can.
When people complain that “they’re tired of the virus” and that “our bodies will eventually just get used to it”, they are throwing all their hope onto that idea. The worst that we can say about being too cautious with COVID is the ability to look back on it and perhaps admit we could’ve been more lenient. However, due to our caution, we would still have a future and a lot of wiggle-room to prevent such a thing from ever happening again.
The worst we can say about not being cautious enough is that everything could get much drastically worse. If people’s carefree attitudes win out, and their blind positivity falls short, we could lose everything. Many more lives could be lost, schools and businesses could close and the world could once again fall into panic.
The effects of this would be devastating and would take even longer for us to recover from, if we ever could. As a child, I was always told by adults to “plan ahead’ and come prepared for the worst. Arrive on the scene with not only a plan B, but a plan C, D, E, and F as well. This is our time to put these lessons to use. Let us take the steps to create a safety blanket in case all falls through. Let’s continue to get vaccinated and wear our masks when in public. We must stop the pace of COVID, protect our communities and our future. The worst may very well not be behind us, and we must be prepared.
Dani Moore can be reached at [email protected]