Payton Stephens photo by Lou Westcott
With the newest COVID-19 strain, Omicron, coming to the surface in countries across the globe, the topic of vaccinations, masking, and general health mandates have been weighing on my mind.
The new Omicron variant has been discovered in the United Kingdom, Australia, Israel and Hong Kong as of Sunday, Nov. 28. Even though the variant has not yet been confirmed in the U.S., the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it’s only a matter of time, which could lead to a fifth wave of COVID cases.
I won’t lie and say the pandemic life isn’t getting old and that I’m not tired of wearing a mask or terrified to cough in public. I am. I hate the pandemic life just as much as the next person. However, the reality is we have not yet emerged from pandemic life.
As someone growing up with a weak immune system, the pandemic has definitely been eye-opening. Back in March of 2020 I was already the person who brought hand sanitizer everywhere, wiped down the keyboard and mouse in the tech center before sitting down and washed my hands more times than I could count.
“Adding the pandemic on top of my ‘already germaphobe life’ made me realize just how much some people don’t understand about the severity of some things, like COVID-19.”
As time has gone on, I will admit I have found myself relaxing on some of the guidelines at times. The mental toll the pandemic has taken on all of us is taxing, and it’s been so easy just to throw my hands up and pull down my mask. But I have to stop and tell myself that if I stop caring, nothing will get better. Numbers will continue to rise, and we will be stuck in a continuous loop of lockdowns.
After everything the world has gone through in the last 21 months, I truly hope we can find a way to hold on and hold strong.
Payton Stephens is managing editor for The Witmarsum
