It’s two years now since we first heard about the mysterious illness that was being reported in Wuhan.
I started to get anxious when I heard reports from colleagues of the terrible situation in Italy, and then the US and the UK. As it gradually spread around the world, it seemed inevitable it was going to come here. There was no reason to think we would be spared, and of course we knew that our health system was embarrassingly under resourced compared to other first world countries. I remember cycling into work during that first lockdown, and promising myself that if I didn’t die, I was going to buy a Tesla. Well, we stamped it out, thanks to Jacinda and the team of five million, I didn’t die and I got my lovely Model S so all was good.
Then came the variants. I think we could have got rid of Delta, but Omicron has just been several mutations too far, and now here it is. But, boy are we in a far better situation now than we were! OK, we’re still horribly underfunded but our vaccination rates are excellent.
It’s funny how different everyone’s experience of the pandemic has been. In the end, I’ve been pretty well unscathed so far. I haven’t even seen anyone with COVID in person yet. I have to wear a mask more often than previously, but it’s something I was used to in my job anyway, as well as all that other infection control stuff – hand washing, etc. And I’m still being paid. The members of our society who have suffered most are those who’ve caught it and got very sick or died, as well as their families, and then those who have suffered economically – hospo and tourism, for example.
Our lockdowns haven’t been that long on a global scale, but I’m sure it’s been disruptive enough for some people – kids at school, the socially isolated, those in unhappy domestic situations. Some people have had less work than usual, but then there are a number who have been far busier, such as anyone involved in organising our COVID response. Conspiracy theorists, libertarians, naturopaths, and other crackpots have all been very active, and of course, the billionaires just keep getting richer…
It’ll be interesting to see what the next weeks and months bring.