01-15-2022, 10:37 PM
(01-15-2022, 09:57 PM)ac3r Wrote: I just think we're starting to hit a point where...we need to accept this virus is out there and uncontainable right now. It's not going to go away for a long time. We dropped the ball already and there is no fixing it at this point, but we likely could have...who knows, we haven't faced a virus of this magnitude in a very long time. There is so much more suffering happening that is not directly related to infection/disease but is still harming and even killing people. We need to start rethinking how we handle this as it continues that allows civilization to continue to function whilst protecting those remaining people who are predisposed to having poorer odds should they contract this and improving the lives of those who have already been infected by this (whether they got sick, lost a loved one, a business, ended up on the streets, addicted to drugs, fell into poverty etc).
So, if your point is that the current COVID-19 policies are not sustainable for the long term, I think most people would agree with you. And I would, too.
If what you want to say, however, is that we should drop all restrictions today and allow the fittest to survive, that's a whole different statement.
I agree that we need policies that are suited for a COVID-19 endemic. And I do think we were starting to move into that direction in the fall, before Omicron threw a spanner into the works. At this time, 19 January, I don't think we understand Omicron well enough to be able to entirely drop our guard. Hopefully the situation will be different soon, from the point of view of hospital loading and infection spread, that we can have a rational discussion (as a society) of what this "new normal" should look like.