Last Thoughts in 2020
Dear Editor: There is a lot of activity and news around COVID. With questions, concerns, doubts and news all swirling around, daily invading our personal space and homes … it is easy to get lost in it all.
As your public health nurse, and as a fellow Sitkan, I wanted to end the year with a few clear and easy to understand points as an effort in bringing focus to what is important right now regarding COVID-19.
First, I would like to express my gratitude. It has been a whirlwind year full of adaptation to new ways, rules we would rather not have imposed upon us, and pressure from all sides to perform. In short, it has been anything but easy. As we say, “goodbye” to 2020, and look forward to 2021 we want to do so with thoughtfulness … keeping what we have learned and letting go of what is just noise.
So, what have we learned that we should keep? We know COVID-19 is a real virus and it is powerful. We know COVID has changed our lives in many deferent aspects. We know there are new strains. This, however, isn’t new, viruses typically acquire mutations over time. There is already evidence that mutations have occurred, and we are hearing about increased ability to spread. There is no evidence to date this mutation has any impact on the severity of the disease or vaccine efficacy. While vaccination is not the ANSWER to stopping COVID, it is a great layer of protection to go along with the other mitigation layers we know are effective in slowing the transmission.
In our efforts to slow the spread, we would do well to remember all the mitigation plans are prudent: physical distancing, universal masking, small social bubbles, hygiene, and now vaccinate. Our mitigations are like a rope, each fiber is only stronger when all are twisted and braided together. One strand is not enough, multiple and intertwined together is what gives it the strength to endure a heavy load. We are under a very heavy load. Together we are stronger.
I know you are thinking, OK, OK … to what end? We don’t know yet. But what we do know is for the foreseeable future we must continue our mitigations, keep doing what we know works, and not lose hope that at the end of the day all of our efforts pooled together will bring about the change we all seek.
Denise Ewing, RN, BSN, MA,
State of Alaska,
Sitka Public Health Nurse III
