I have mixed feelings about this question. Part of me has no sympathy for those who refuse vaccines, masks, social distancing, etc., and wants to embrace things like the Delta variant being called "The Darwin Variant." The other part of me is extremely concerned about the long term effects the pandemic is having. Health care workers are exhausted, traumatized, and burned out. Educators, students, front line essential workers have also had a heavy load to carry.
If we're going to "let it rip," then all health care workers should have their student debt cancelled, and every worker in the health care field including janitors and receptionists and cafeteria workers should be given double pay for what they've been through. Not to mention grocery store clerks, food workers, and all other essential workers should be compensated with a double to triple wages - something livable for the first time in a generation.
I just can't stop thinking about how truly lucky we've been with this pandemic. COVID-19 and all it's variants have basically been SARS 2.0. It could have just as easily have been a MERS virus or mutated into a MERS which has a 35% mortality rate. If we think the worker shortage is bad now, just wait until we get hit with a 35% mortality rate virus and then see how long the lights stay on. If those anti-masker/anti-vaxxer whiners think that their rights are going to mean a damn in a situation like that, they've got one hell of a rude awakening coming.
Yeah, we've been very lucky this time around because we certainly haven't been very smart.
How are we going to handle the next pandemic? We better start figuring it out now. These highly pathogenic corona viruses are rolling out about once every 10 years starting in 2002. COVID-19 is the 3rd in a span of less than 20 years. And who knows what's buried in all that ice that's melting.
I fear that we still haven't learned a damn thing.
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