By Lauren Beasley
Ahhh, here we are, well into the year 2022. We are also well into the usage of words and phrases that were foreign to us just a few years ago, such as “coronavirus”, “N95”, “vaccination card”, “epidemic”, “social distancing”, and “quarantine”. Ah, to go back to the days where “corona” was only a type of beer instead of something to fear.
Personally, working in the medical field has given me an inside look at Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) also known as Covid-19. While I am used to having to “suit up” daily in PPE, it is still a foreign concept for me to see N95 masks and gloves available for sale at my local grocery store. It’s odd to know what my temperature is every day. And it’s still not commonplace for me to see at-home covid tests on the shelves at Walgreens. Even though this is our “new norm”, there still is not anything normal about it, even two years later.
I always say that there are moments that mark a “before this” and “after this” time in life. Covid is definitely one of those moments. In early March 2020, I remember reading the news, keeping up with it all, however, it wasn’t really being reported in the US yet. It seemed like it was only something happening overseas, and that we were safe from it. My boyfriend and I had a trip planned to the Players Championship at Sawgrass that weekend. We were packed and ready to go as soon as we both got off of work that afternoon. Suddenly, my Apple watch was buzzing as news broke that the Players had gone to players only, no fans, for the tournament. As refund emails poured in, my boyfriend and I were texting about still heading down to watch the tournament at a bar, and enjoy the festivities in town, when the second notification came in. “Player Championship Canceled”. As the weekend went on, one game after another, one sporting event then another, all canceled.
I sat in the hotel room Saturday morning, with a cup of coffee and the newspaper. The headline of the USA Today read “NCAA cancels March Madness; NBA, NHL Suspended.” I felt like I was in a bad dream. What do you mean, there’s no sports? My boyfriend, the host of a sports radio talk show, and myself, editor for a sports website as my second job, didn’t know how to comprehend what was happening. The Masters followed shortly after, and being a native of Augusta, Georgia, I thought the world just might be coming to an end at that point. Needless to say, it was a very long and very odd spring and summer. And I thought for sure by August, it would be gone.
Fast forward to two years later, and you would think we would be used to it all by now, but it’s simply not the case. To make matters worse, it’s hard to determine what is fact and what is rumor nowadays, much less trying to figure out whether to wear a mask or what vaccine is safe to give at what age. So, as a medical professional, I thought I’d put in my two cents on tips on dealing with the ongoing pandemic.
- WASH YOUR HANDS. I cannot stress this enough, and honestly, I wish this little hygiene tip had been pushed ten times harder in the beginning stages of the outbreak. Personally, I believe that proper hand hygiene is more effective than wearing a mask, especially considering most people don’t wear them correctly or have cloth masks instead of medical masks to protect themselves. Washing your hands is something that was instilled in us as before we even learned how to walk and talk, and it still should be the number one tip in helping to stop the spread of any virus or infection. I personally wash my hands an ungodly number of times at work. Imagine what you would think if you came in for a surgical procedure and I didn’t!! If you need a refresher on technique of frequency, here’s a link to the CDC website in various languages on how to do so.
- STICK TO IT. Whether or not you are pro-vax or anti-vax is not the debate here. If you want to be vaccinated, great. If you have to be vaccinated for your place of employment and agree to do so, great. If you don’t want to be vaccinated due to religious, medical, or personal reasons…great. This is not a debate about what to do; whatever your personal choice may be is your decision. If you get vaccinated, carry your card (or at least a digital version of it) and follow up with the booster shots to stay up to date. If you elect not to be vaccinated, then follow whatever rules asking to wear a mask or be tested beforehand, etc. Whatever your decision is, stick with it, and do what you need to do to protect yourself and others. The CDC does recommend COVID-19 primary series vaccines for everyone ages 6 months and older, and COVID-19 boosters for everyone ages 5 years and older, if eligible. All the information on the vaccine, including myths and truths, as well as side effects and guidelines for immunocompromised individuals can be found here. Oh, and wash your hands. That goes for all of you.
- BE SMART. This should honestly go without saying, yet here we are. If you are around someone who has tested positive, self-quarantine and get tested. Let people know that you have been in contact with someone who is positive. Contact tracing is important. Also, clean and disinfect your home and areas that you frequent. As of today, the CDC has not updated its quarantine and isolation guidance since March. The guidelines state that any person who believes they have been in contact with someone who has COVID and are unvaccinated should quarantine. Those who test positive, regardless of vaccination status, must isolate, according to the CDC. You can find an interactive quarantine/isolation calculator to let you know how to deal with exposure here.
Don’t forget that we are all in this together, trite as that phrase has come to sound. There is no one that is NOT dealing with the effects of the coronavirus, whether it is the loss of a loved one, ongoing symptoms both during and after being sick, being understaffed and overwhelmed, or simply just being fearful of the world today. Remember to be kind to everyone, because you never know what someone is dealing with in their own personal life. Be smart and stay safe. Wash your hands! And as we are finding more places where we don’t have to wear masks, be sure to smile. Happiness is something the world could spread a little more.
