The end is within sight! America is getting vaccinated.
With stated plans by the White House and Center for Disease Control (CDC) to have the majority of Americans vaccinated by winter, it seems like there is a good chance to return to the old normal by next year.
That being said, we cannot come out of the pandemic without having learned anything. So what should be the lesson in all of this?
It is time to get into the habit of normalizing community health safety measures.
What do I mean by that?
American culture has largely been one of “your health is your business and no one else’s”. This means that the way we try to handle diseases tends to be very secluded to individual care as opposed to a communal effort.
If there’s one thing to be learned from this year of unending Zoom calls, tests, and DoorDash deliveries, it needs to be that taking health safety measures in the name of communal health has to be a necessity.
According to the CDC, a communal health safety measure can be described as, “A precautionary procedure meant to limit the spread of contaminants when operating in a public setting.”
That includes things like masks, social distancing, telecommuting to work, isolating, regular tests, and all of those other COVID-19 procedures that came about during this last 365 days. It is time to be more accepting of these measures as possible ways to keep any form of infection down.
I understand, I want to be done with social distancing and masks and sitting at home for days upon end. But in order to avoid something like this again, there needs to be a much more focused and conscious effort to try to regulate public health.
That effort starts with being more readily accepting of those measures.
If you are sick, it should be normal and embraced to isolate or telecommute. If you have to leave home while sick, there shouldn’t even be a second thought to wear a mask or take some other safety measure.
Cultures across the world have had these as a staple in their societies for a long time, and we can statistically measure the benefits those bring around.
A study from the Journal of Hospital Medicine led by researchers from Vanderbilt University found that respiratory illnesses were down 62% in America from where they normally are this time of the year.
A collection of data from the World Health Organization found that the flu season was on average 50-60% shorter across the world thanks to self-isolation.
Health safety measures work and should be something everyone is taught and ready to do. We teach things like washing hands or covering your mouth for a cough/sneeze. So why don’t we teach these other things as normal and positive paths to keeping the community healthy?
If you are someone who didn’t like being required to wear a mask or stay at home, then you should also embrace making these things a part of normal life.
According to the CDC, if American townships had managed to fully self-isolate for the recommended two-week period, we could have flattened the curve enough to be largely free of the pandemic within two to three months of the first infection.
I understand it’s not possible for everyone to tele-commute or to socially distance or to do every little thing. However, if we want to avoid another health crisis like this one and make sure we don’t have to have any more mask mandates or required tests, we have to learn this lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is time to be more accepting and forceful of the learning, the understanding, and the utilization of community precautionary health measures.
