Lim: Post-pandemic

What does post-pandemic life look like? Well, we don’t know. We’re not there yet. Oh yes. Contrary to what many believe, we are still in the midst of a pandemic.

While our lives have assumed a semblance of former times, such semblance must not lull us into the false belief that Covid is gone. But life must go on.

This, however, does not mean that we should throw all caution to the wind. Because Omicron BA.5 is still at it. Cases are still rising and nowhere near peaking. No. Not just yet.

True, BA.5 is not as deadly as Delta. Cases have been mild and deaths have been low. But as it evades protection offered by vaccination and prior infections, it is highly transmissible.

And it’s more widespread than you think because many cases are currently flying under the radar. Since most cases are mild, often, no hospitalization is involved. With home testing, many cases go undocumented. But Marites is everywhere. So, we all know who’s been afflicted.

What people need to understand is that with a high level of community transmission will come greater chances for the virus to mutate into strains that may prove more unpredictable. So, it still doesn’t make sense to just let the virus run loose.

So, while we don’t have to excessively worry about BA.5, we should not drop our guard. We should keep our masks on even if we are mocked. These masks, seen as a sign of weakness by skeptics, have saved many lives.

And we should learn to be selective when we feel the need to socialize.

So, while I still worry about BA.5 raging right now, I worry more about the idiotic attitude of those who say that it’s perfectly fine to get infected because BA.5 is mild and we won’t die.

If you’re young and healthy, you truly have less to worry about. But please think about those who are especially vulnerable because of age and comorbidities. They don’t deserve to be collateral damage in your exercise of unbridled personal freedom.

Should you get infected and be asymptomatic due to robust health and full-vaccination status or come down with mild symptoms and dismiss it as flu, know that you could inadvertently transmit the virus to someone who could die from complications of the virus.

Just a gentle reminder for you to practice the compassion that your religion teaches you.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t go out, socialize or travel. Do what you must to stay healthy and happy. But in your quest to live your pandemic life to the fullest, consider the lives of others, too. You don’t live in a bubble. Your actions impact others.

We all have to decide for ourselves how much risk we are willing to take to live our lives to the fullest. But let’s never live in utter disregard of others.

Every person deserves the chance to live the post-pandemic life we can only dream of, today.